STOCK TITAN

Cartica Acquisition (CRTAF) to liquidate SPAC, redeem shares and cancel warrants

Filing Impact
(High)
Filing Sentiment
(Neutral)
Form Type
8-K

Rhea-AI Filing Summary

Cartica Acquisition Corp is winding down after failing to complete a business combination by February 7, 2026, as required by its governing documents. The company has notified regulators of an anticipated redemption of its Class A ordinary shares and requested that OTC Markets suspend trading in its Class A shares, redeemable warrants, and units before the market opens on February 24, 2026, after which these securities will no longer be listed.

Cartica intends to redeem the Class A shares on February 25, 2026 for cash equal to the funds held in its trust account, including interest not used for taxes, divided by the shares outstanding. As of February 17, 2026, the trust account held about $11,865,002 and there were 927,559 Class A shares outstanding, leading to an estimated per-share redemption amount of $12.79. This redemption will fully extinguish Class A shareholders’ rights. The redeemable warrants will not receive any redemption or liquidation payments and will expire worthless. Following delisting, the company plans to file Form 15 to terminate its SEC reporting obligations for these securities.

Positive

  • None.

Negative

  • SPAC liquidation and loss of equity upside: Cartica Acquisition Corp is ceasing operations, delisting its securities, redeeming Class A shares for cash and terminating reporting, while all redeemable warrants receive no value and expire worthless.

Insights

Cartica is liquidating its SPAC, redeeming shares and canceling warrants.

Cartica Acquisition Corp confirms its SPAC lifecycle is ending after missing the February 7, 2026 deadline to complete a merger. In line with its charter, the company has ceased normal operations and is proceeding with an orderly wind‑up and cash redemption of public Class A shares.

The trust account held about $11,865,002 as of February 17, 2026, supporting an estimated redemption price of $12.79 per Class A share for 927,559 shares. This structure returns essentially all IPO capital to public shareholders while avoiding an operating business combination.

Holders of redeemable warrants receive no cash or shares and their instruments will expire worthless, a common outcome when a SPAC liquidates. Trading in the securities is expected to cease before the market opens on February 24, 2026, and the company plans a Form 15 filing to terminate ongoing reporting obligations.

Item 3.01 Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing Securities
The company received a delisting notice or transferred its listing to a different exchange.
Item 8.01 Other Events Other
Voluntary disclosure of events the company deems important to shareholders but not covered by other items.
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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): February 17, 2026

 

Cartica Acquisition Corp

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Cayman Islands   001-41198   N/A
(State or other jurisdiction
of incorporation)
  (Commission
File Number)
  (I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)

 

1345 Avenue of the Americas, 11th Floor

New York, NY

(Address of principal executive offices)

10105 

(Zip Code)

 

+1 (202) 741-3677

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Not Applicable

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

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the Registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

¨ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
¨ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

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

 

Title of each class   Trading
Symbol(s)
  Name of each exchange
on which registered
None   N/A   N/A

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

 

Emerging growth company x

 

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. ¨

 

 

 

 

 

Item 3.01Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing

 

On February 17, 2026, Cartica Acquisition Corp (the “Company”) (i) notified Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. of the anticipated redemption (the “Redemption”) of the Company’s outstanding Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class A Shares”); and (ii) requested that OTC Markets Group, Inc. (the “OTC Markets”) suspend trading of the Company’s Class A Shares, redeemable warrants to purchase Class A Shares (the “Redeemable Warrants”) and units, each consisting of one Class A Share and one-half of one Redeemable Warrant (the units, together with the Class A Shares and the Redeemable Warrants, the “Securities”) effective before the opening of trading on February 24, 2026. As a result, the Securities will no longer be listed on the OTC Markets.

 

Following the delisting of the Securities on the OTC Markets, the Company intends to file a Form 15 Certification and Notice of Termination of Registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission, requesting that the Company’s reporting obligations under Sections 13 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, be terminated with respect to the Securities.

 

Item 8.01Other Events

 

The Company was not able to consummate a business combination by the deadline (February 7, 2026) specified in the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company, dated January 4, 2022, as amended (the “Articles”). Accordingly, on February 7, 2026, in accordance with Article 163(a) of the Articles, the Company ceased all operations except for the purpose of winding up, dissolution and liquidation of the Company. Further, in accordance with Article 163(a) of the Articles, the Company intends to redeem the Class A Shares on February 25, 2026 at a per-share price (the “Redemption Amount”), payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (the “Trust Account”), including interest earned on the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay income taxes, if any, divided by the number of Class A Shares then in issue, which redemption will completely extinguish the holders of Class A Shares' rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any). There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the Redeemable Warrants, which will expire worthless.

 

As of February 17, 2026, the total amount held in the Trust Account was approximately $11,865,002, and a total of 927,559 Class A Shares were outstanding. The Company estimates that the Redemption Amount will be approximately $12.79.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

 

This Current Report on Form 8-K includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “seek,” “target” or other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Such statements may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the redemption of Class A Shares and the filing of the Form 15. The forward-looking statements contained in this Current Report on Form 8-K reflect the Company’s current views about future events and are subject to numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and changes in circumstances that may cause actual events to differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. The Company does not guarantee that the events described will happen as described (or that they will happen at all). Please refer to the publicly filed documents of the Company, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, as filed with the SEC on March 31, 2024, for risks and uncertainties which may affect the statements made in this Current Report on Form 8-K. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Current Report on Form 8-K.

 

If any of the risks identified in documents publicly filed by the Company materialize or the Company’s assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. While forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s good faith beliefs, they are not guarantees of future performance. The Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, new information, data or methods, future events or other changes after the date of this Current Report on Form 8-K, except as required by applicable law. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are based only on information currently available to the Company.

 

 

 

 

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.

 

  CARTICA ACQUISITION CORP
     
Date: February 18, 2026 By: /s/ Suresh Guduru
  Name: Suresh Guduru
  Title: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

FAQ

What is Cartica Acquisition Corp (CRTAF) announcing in this 8-K?

Cartica Acquisition Corp is winding up its SPAC after missing its merger deadline. It plans to redeem all public Class A shares for cash, delist its securities from OTC Markets, and file Form 15 to terminate SEC reporting obligations.

Why is Cartica Acquisition Corp (CRTAF) liquidating instead of completing a merger?

Cartica Acquisition Corp did not complete a business combination by February 7, 2026, the deadline in its amended and restated memorandum and articles. Under those terms, it was required to cease normal operations and proceed to wind up, dissolve, and liquidate the company.

How much cash will CRTAF Class A shareholders receive in the redemption?

Class A shareholders are expected to receive cash equal to the trust account balance per share. As of February 17, 2026, about $11,865,002 in the trust and 927,559 shares imply an estimated redemption price of approximately $12.79 per Class A share, paid in cash.

What happens to Cartica Acquisition Corp (CRTAF) redeemable warrants?

Cartica Acquisition Corp’s redeemable warrants will not receive any redemption or liquidating distributions. The filing states there will be no redemption rights or liquidation distributions for the warrants, and they will simply expire worthless when the SPAC is wound up.

When will CRTAF trading be suspended and securities delisted?

Cartica requested that OTC Markets suspend trading in its Class A shares, redeemable warrants, and units before the opening of trading on February 24, 2026. After that suspension, these securities will no longer be listed on the OTC Markets platform.

What SEC reporting changes will follow Cartica Acquisition Corp’s liquidation?

After delisting its securities from OTC Markets, Cartica Acquisition Corp intends to file Form 15 with the SEC. This Form 15 will request termination of the company’s reporting obligations under Sections 13 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act for its securities.

Filing Exhibits & Attachments

3 documents