10-K

Large accelerated filer

Accelerated filer

Non-accelerated filer

Smaller reporting company

Emerging growth company

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM

10-K

(Mark One)

☒	ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021

☐	TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from

BCLS Acquisition Corp.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


Cayman Islands	001-39646	98-1554961
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(Commission File Number)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)


200 Clarendon Street Boston, Massachusetts		02116
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (617)

516-2000

Not Applicable

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

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


Title of Each Class:	Trading Symbol:	Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered:
Class A ordinary shares, 0.0001 par value	BLSA	The Nasdaq Capital Market

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

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

S-T

(§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☒ No

☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a

non-accelerated

filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule

12b-2

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 has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule

12b-2

of the Exchange Act).

Yes

☒ No ☐

The aggregate market value of the outstanding Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 (the “Class A ordinary shares”), other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the registrant, computed by reference to the closing sales price for the Class A ordinary shares on June 30, 2021, as reported on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”), was $144,760,750 (based on the Nasdaq closing sales price of the Class A ordinary shares on June 30, 2021 of $9.74).

As of March

, 2022, 14,862,500 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001, and 3,593,750 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001, were issued and outstanding.

Documents Incorporated by Reference: None.

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS


			Page

PART I				1
	Item 1.	Business		1
	Item 1A.	Risk Factors		22
	Item 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments		55
	Item 2.	Properties		55
	Item 3.	Legal Proceedings		55
	Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures		55

Part II				56
	Item 5.	Market For Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Shareholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities		56
	Item 6.	Reserved		57
	Item 7.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations		57
	Item 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk		64
	Item 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data		64
	Item 9.	Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure		64
	Item 9A.	Controls and Procedures		64
	Item 9B.	Other Information.		65
	Item 9C.	Disclosures Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections.		65

Part III				66
	Item 10.	Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance		66
	Item 11.	Executive Compensation		74
	Item 12.	Security Ownership Of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder Matters		75
	Item 13.	Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions, and Director Independence		78
	Item 14.	Principal Accountant Fees and Services		80

Part IV				80
	Item 15.	Exhibits, Financial Statements Schedules		80
	Item 16.	Form 10-K Summary		81

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CERTAIN TERMS

Unless otherwise stated in this Annual Report on Form

10-K

of BCLS Acquisition Corp. (this “Report”), or the context otherwise requires, references to:

•

“Companies Act” are to the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time;

•

“company,” “we,” “us,” “our,” or “our company” are to BCLS Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company;

•

“founder shares” are to our Class

B ordinary shares initially issued to our sponsor in a private placement prior to our initial public offering and the Class

A ordinary shares that will be issued upon the automatic conversion of the Class

B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination (for the avoidance of doubt, such Class

A ordinary shares will not be “public shares”);

•

“initial shareholders” are to our sponsor and independent directors;

•

“management” or “our management team” are to our executive officers and directors (including our director nominees who became directors at the consummation of our initial public offering);

•

“ordinary shares” are to our Class

A ordinary shares and our Class

B ordinary shares;

•

“Bain Capital” are to Bain Capital, LP, an affiliate of our sponsor;

•

“Bain Capital Life Sciences” are to Bain Capital Life Sciences, LP and its affiliates, an affiliate of our sponsor;

•

“private placement shares” are to the Class

A ordinary shares issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering (which private placement shares are identical to the shares sold in our initial public offering, subject to certain limited exceptions as described herein) and upon conversion of working capital loans;

•

“public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our sponsor and management team to the extent our sponsor and/or members of our management team purchase public shares; provided that our sponsor’s and each member of our management team’s status as a “public shareholder” will only exist with respect to such public shares;

•

“public shares” are to our Class

A ordinary shares sold in our initial public offering (whether they are purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market); and

•

“sponsor” are to BCLS Acquisition Holdings, LP, a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership.

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND RISK FACTOR SUMMARY

Some of the statements contained in this Report may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.

The forward-looking statements contained in this Report are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other factors:

•

we have no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective;

•

our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses;

•

our ability to complete our initial business combination;

•

our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses;

•

our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;

•

our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination;

•

our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination;

•

our pool of prospective target businesses;

•

our ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the uncertainty resulting from the recent

COVID-19

pandemic;

•

the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities;

•

our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading;

•

the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance;

•

the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties;

•

our financial performance; and

•

the other risks and uncertainties discussed in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Report.

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

iii

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PART I

ITEM 1.

BUSINESS

Overview

We are a blank check company incorporated on August 26, 2020 as a Cayman Islands exempted company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this Report as our initial business combination. To date, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities, activities related to our initial public offering as well as the search for a prospective business combination.

While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business, industry, sector or geographical location, we intend to focus on industries that complement our management team’s background and to capitalize on the ability of our management team to identify and acquire a business, focusing on the healthcare or healthcare related industries. In particular, we are pursuing investments, primarily based in North America and Europe and selectively in other geographies, including Asia and emerging markets, in biopharmaceutical, specialty pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostics and enabling life science technology companies. We may pursue a transaction in which our shareholders immediately prior to the completion of our initial business combination would collectively own a minority interest in the post-business combination company.

Our Founders

Our sponsor is an affiliate of Bain Capital Life Sciences, a leading life sciences investment manager with approximately $4.6 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2021. Bain Capital Life Sciences was established in 2016 to invest in biopharmaceutical, specialty pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostics and enabling life science technology companies globally, with a focus on companies that both drive medical innovation and enable that innovation to improve the lives of patients with unmet medical needs. Our founders are the senior leaders of Bain Capital Life Sciences. Adam Koppel, our Chairman, is a

co-founder

and Managing Director of Bain Capital Life Sciences. Jeffrey Schwartz, our Chief Executive Officer, is a

co-founder

and Managing Director of Bain Capital Life Sciences. Andrew Hack, our Chief Financial Officer, is a Managing Director of Bain Capital Life Sciences.

Since its inception, Bain Capital Life Sciences has met with over 1,300 companies and has invested or committed over $1.1 billion in 33 companies in both private financing rounds and, when applicable, a subsequent initial public offering as of September 30, 2021. Bain Capital Life Sciences has led or

co-led

20 of the 33 private financing rounds and, following those investments, has had board representation through a director or observer role in 27 of the companies. Of the 33 private companies in which Bain Capital Life Sciences has invested, 17 have gone on to become publicly-traded companies, including Annexon (Nasdaq: ANNX), Arcutis (Nasdaq: ARQT), Atea (Nasdaq: AVIR), Nurix (Nasdaq: NRIX), Nuvalent (Nasdaq: NUVL), Rapid Micro Biosystems (Nasdaq: RPID), Replimune (Nasdaq: REPL), and SpringWorks (Nasdaq: SWTX), among others.

Bain Capital Life Sciences is an affiliate of Bain Capital, one of the world’s leading alternative asset management firms with approximately $155 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2021. Since its inception in 1984, Bain Capital has employed a strategic, analytical approach to identify attractive investment opportunities and partner with management teams to transform and improve their businesses. During this time, Bain Capital has developed global reach, deep expertise and a proven track record in the life sciences across its business units. Bain Capital Life Sciences leverages the expertise of Bain Capital’s other affiliate advisors and Bain Capital’s infrastructure more broadly as a valuable resource, including its strong global relationships, capital markets knowledge, shared research services, and investment committee and internal advisory board insights.

The past performance of the members of our management team or their affiliates, including Bain Capital Life Sciences, is not a guarantee that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business

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combination or of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record or the performance of our management team, Bain Capital Life Sciences or any of their affiliates’ or managed fund’s performance as indicative of our future performance. Our management team has no experience in operating special purpose acquisition companies.

Life Sciences Industry Opportunity

While we may acquire a business in any industry, our focus is on biopharmaceutical, specialty pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostics and enabling life science technology companies, primarily based in North America and Europe, and selectively in other geographies, including Asia and emerging markets. We believe that several long-term secular trends and themes in healthcare are creating meaningful opportunities for successful investment within the life sciences sector. These trends include the following:

•

Continued growth of the overall healthcare market supported by favorable demographic trends

. The population of people over age 65 is at the beginning of a multi-decade period of sustained growth, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services projects that this population will grow from the

mid-teens

to approximately 20%, as a percentage of the total population, by 2030 in both the United States and other developed countries. As people age, they typically consume more healthcare, and an aging population is expected to drive consumption of healthcare in excess of broader economic growth. Spending on healthcare, driven by advancements in technology and treatment alternatives, has already been growing faster than the broader economy, as evidenced by the fact that healthcare expenditures tripled from 1995 to 2015 and are still trending at a 5–6% annual growth rate, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. According to the OECD, pharmaceutical spending has remained a stable part of healthcare spending in the United States at around 10% over the last two decades, and we expect that this trend will continue even as healthcare expenditures continue to grow.

•

Increased pace of innovation within the life sciences market

. We believe the life sciences sector is in the early stages of an era defined by an increased pace of innovation that will impact the treatment of patients with unmet or

under-met

medical needs. Such innovation is being driven by advances on a variety of fronts, including human genetics, therapeutic modalities, and translational medicine. Broader technological evolution, including in material sciences, miniaturization, and computational technology, is allowing for new diagnostics and devices that can provide better and often accelerated outcomes or address previously unmet medical needs. Along with novel therapeutics, new opportunities exist for innovative drug-device combinations or diagnostics that are integrated with therapeutic targeting.

•

Deconstruction of the life sciences value chain creating more opportunities for disruptive innovation

. Although companies in this sector have grown, both organically and through mergers and acquisitions, and research and development budgets have increased, there has not been commensurate improvement in research and development productivity. We believe that larger, multi-asset companies are realizing that although they can grow to be more efficient on certain business elements, they must rely on external partnerships or mergers and acquisitions to drive and support innovation. In parallel to this evolution of strategy and approach for larger life sciences companies, the advances driving innovation in the life sciences field have enhanced the ability for smaller companies to pursue innovation in more targeted, accelerated and efficient manners. We believe that there is a supply and demand mismatch for true innovation in the life sciences ecosystem and that, as a result, innovative companies will be appropriately rewarded for their success.

•

A complex and evolving healthcare ecosystem that requires deep understanding in order to optimize returns from innovation

. Several key components of, and stakeholders within, the life sciences ecosystem are in a dynamic state, including an evolving regulatory process, consolidation of payer and drug distribution channels, and growing consumerization of healthcare. We believe that a deep understanding of the entire ecosystem is required to optimize returns from innovation and that understanding the technical risks and probabilities of success around innovative developments alone is not sufficient for sustainable investment success in the life sciences field. For example, the bar for

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approval in certain severe orphan diseases with high unmet need has been lowered, which has created attractive investment opportunities for those focused on understanding this evolving regulatory trend, while in other settings the bar for approval has been more challenging, requiring stronger efficacy and safety profiles.

We believe the emergence of these trends and themes has created an increased need for targeted capital and value-added strategic support of companies around their critical phases of growth.

The life sciences market that BCLS Acquisition Corp. is targeting represents a portion of a much larger market that saw more than $260 billion in M&A activity in 2021 and has seen more than $150 billion in M&A activity in each year since 2014. Consistent innovation and development of new products creates a regular source of investment opportunities and a need for capital to fund growth.

We believe that life sciences companies, at a certain stage in their development, see material benefits from being publicly-traded, including greater access to capital, more liquid securities and increased market awareness. In recent years,

pre-IPO

financing rounds, now commonly referred to as “crossover” financings, have become a critical step in the process of becoming a publicly-traded life sciences company. From January 1, 2018 through June 30, 2021, there were 262 life sciences IPOs of more than $50 million, 158 of which were preceded by a

pre-IPO

financing within the 12 months leading up to the IPO. The mean and median amounts of capital raised in these combined

pre-IPO

and IPO financings were $278 million and $249 million, respectively. We believe that an acquisition by a special purpose acquisition company with a management team that is well-known to, and respected by, life sciences founders, their current third-party investors and their management teams can replace the role of the combined crossover and IPO financings. We also believe an acquisition by BCLS Acquisition Corp., potentially combined with a private placement that could occur concurrently with the consummation of our initial business combination, would provide the target business with a similar or greater amount of capital as a potential combination of a crossover and IPO financing while simultaneously providing a more transparent and efficient mechanism for bringing our target business to the public markets.

Acquisition Strategy

Our acquisition strategy is designed to deliver strong returns by targeting companies that drive innovation and enable that innovation to improve the lives of patients with unmet medical needs. Consistent with the strategy of the affiliate of our sponsor, Bain Capital Life Sciences, we intend to target companies in the middle stages of their life cycles, by which we mean companies that are in a position to drive a near-term value inflection related to clinical evidence and/or commercial results. We believe targeting companies at this stage is attractive for the following reasons:

•

Attractive returns within the life sciences sector are often generated by identifying and funding the key inflection points in a company’s life cycle. While each company has its own path, we believe the most attractive risk and reward value inflection comes during the middle stages of growth as a life sciences company moves from concept and scientific hypothesis to proof of concept and commercialization. During this period, there are often discrete events, including clinical trials, that mark these inflection points and create clear capital needs. We believe differential insights around these discrete inflection periods create opportunities for value creation and strong returns.

•

As the pace of innovation has increased and as innovation has increasingly taken place in more fragmented and entrepreneurial settings, the capital markets have lagged in their evolution to match these developments. Relatively strong and mature ecosystems exist at the early stages of company formation supported by seed and venture capital investors, and there are numerous funding mechanisms including strategic partners and public markets once a company has a proven or meaningfully

de-risked

product. The ecosystem that funds companies in the middle stages of growth is still evolving, however, and the need for additional capacity and options for companies requiring capital at this stage offers us attractive acquisition opportunities. We believe our capital and

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collaborative support of a company in this phase of development can be a differentiated offering in the market that is valued by both potential targets and our investors.

We are seeking to deliver enough capital to an acquisition target, through the funds held in our trust account and potentially through a private placement that could occur concurrently with the consummation of our initial business combination, to enable such target to be sufficiently capitalized to reach clinical and/or commercial value inflection points. A key aspect of our strategy is our sponsor’s commitment to participating in and recruiting other investors to participate in this capital formation process.

Our acquisition strategy is modeled on Bain Capital Life Sciences’ demonstrated investment approach, which seeks to develop differential insights and drive changes that enable the next phase of growth for target companies. This strategy features three distinct and unique competencies:

•

Proprietary idea generation and proactive, focused sourcing

. We source opportunities through a combination of external networking efforts driven by a broad set of industry relationships and internal proactive analysis of the market to identify potential targets. Our selection process leverages our relationships with industry participants, including early stage venture capital investors, management teams and industry executives, early stage and mature companies, public investors, academic institutions, investigators, consultants, and investment bankers. We also believe that Bain Capital Life Sciences’ reputation, experience and track record of making investments in the life sciences sector makes us a preferred partner for potential targets. We believe this work positions us to identify and prioritize the most attractive assets and companies in a given market.

•

Disciplined asset evaluation and selection process

. We believe that our management team is well-equipped to perform a rigorous assessment of the strategic positioning and value creation potential of prospective target businesses. We focus on conducting robust diligence and analysis around four key parameters tied to the value inflection points of prospective target businesses, which will ultimately form the basis for an acquisition decision that incorporates an appreciation and understanding of the risk-return aspects of a particular company. Specifically we focus on identifying (1) where in a company’s growth the key inflection points exist; (2) for a given inflection, the capital required to drive that inflection; (3) the likelihood that the company successfully achieves that inflection; and (4) the magnitude of value creation if the inflection is achieved and the risk mitigating protections if the inflection is not achieved. We integrate our diligence around these four key issues to drive our ultimate acquisition decisions.

•

Collaborative and active support of companies

. We utilize an approach modeled on Bain Capital Life Sciences’ demonstrated methods of value creation. Through collaborative and active engagement with management and other investors, Bain Capital Life Sciences strives to help guide companies on their journey through key inflection points in their development, specifically by providing support and guidance, both directly and through relationships, on critical strategic areas including clinical trial design, regulatory approaches and interactions, strategies around manufacturing scaling, commercialization and sales strategies, and potential strategic partnerships. We believe our potential contributions to target businesses will both enhance value and make us an attractive partner for management teams and existing investors. In particular, we believe the value of our team’s broad and deep experience, including operational, transactional, capital markets and investment backgrounds, will make us a differentiated partner.

Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors, and criteria that our management may deem relevant.

Initial Business Combination

Our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of

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deferred underwriting discounts held in trust and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses or we are considering an initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. Our shareholders may not be provided with a copy of such opinion nor will they be able to rely on such opinion. While we consider it unlikely that our board will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of a target business or businesses, it may be unable to do so if the board is less familiar or experienced with the target company’s business, there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the company’s assets or prospects, including if such company is at an early stage of development, operations or growth, or if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills and the board determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. Since any opinion, if obtained, would merely state that the fair market value of the target business meets the 80% of net assets threshold, unless such opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of a target business or the consideration to be provided, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our shareholders. However, if required under applicable law, any proxy statement that we deliver to shareholders and file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in connection with a proposed transaction will include such opinion.

We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-business combination company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-business combination company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such 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”). Even if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to the completion of our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-business combination company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval, as applicable. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor.

In addition, our sponsor has indicated an interest to purchase up to an aggregate of $25,000,000 of our ordinary shares in a private placement that would occur concurrently with the consummation of our initial business combination. However, because indications of interest are not binding agreements or commitments to purchase, our sponsor may determine not to purchase any such shares, or to purchase more or fewer shares than it has indicated an interest in purchasing. Furthermore, we are not under any obligation to sell any such shares. If we sell shares to our sponsor (or any other investor) in connection with our initial business combination, the equity interest of investors in our initial public offering in the combined company may be diluted and the market prices for our securities may be adversely affected. In addition, if the per share trading price of our ordinary

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shares is greater than the price per share paid in the private placement, the private placement will result in value dilution to you.

Other Considerations

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination or subsequent transaction with a company that is affiliated with Bain Capital Life Sciences or our sponsor, founders, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Bain Capital Life Sciences, our sponsor or any of our founders, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.

Affiliates of Bain Capital Life Sciences and members of our board of directors directly or indirectly own founder shares and private placement shares and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers or directors were to be included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.

Bain Capital Life Sciences may manage multiple investment vehicles and raise additional funds and/or successor funds in the future, which may be during the period in which we are seeking our initial business combination. These Bain Capital Life Sciences investment entities may be seeking acquisition opportunities and related financing at any time. We may compete with any one or more of them on any given acquisition opportunity. We will not consider a business combination with any company that has already been identified to Bain Capital Life Sciences as a suitable acquisition candidate for it, unless Bain Capital Life Sciences, in its sole discretion, declines such potential business combination or makes available to our company a

co-investment

opportunity in accordance with Bain Capital Life Sciences’ applicable existing and future policies and procedures.

Our sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

In addition, certain of our founders, officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary and contractual duties to other entities, including without limitation, any future special purpose acquisition companies we expect they may be involved in and, investment funds, accounts,

co-investment

vehicles and other entities managed by affiliates of Bain Capital Life Sciences and certain companies in which Bain Capital Life Sciences or such entities have invested. As a result, if any of our founders, officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he, she or it has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations (including, without limitation, any future special purpose acquisition companies we expect they may be involved in and any Bain Capital Life Sciences funds or other investment vehicles), then, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, he or she will need to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, before we can pursue such opportunity. If these funds or investment entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. In addition, investment ideas generated within or presented to Bain Capital Life Sciences or our founders may be suitable for both us and a current or future Bain Capital Life Sciences fund, portfolio company or other investment entity and, subject to applicable fiduciary duties, will first be directed to such fund, portfolio company or other entity before being directed, if at all, to us. None of Bain Capital Life Sciences, our founders or any members of our board of directors who are

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also employed by Bain Capital Life Sciences or its affiliates have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware solely in their capacities as officers or executives of Bain Capital Life Sciences.

However, we do not expect these duties to materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

In addition, our founders, officers and directors, are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. In particular, certain of our officers and directors may serve as an officer and/or director of other future special purpose acquisition companies. Moreover, our founders, officers and directors have, and will have in the future, time and attention requirements for current and future investment funds, accounts,

co-investment

vehicles and other entities managed by Bain Capital Life Sciences. To the extent any conflict of interest arises between, on the one hand, us and, on the other hand, investments funds, accounts,

co-investment

vehicles and other entities managed by Bain Capital Life Sciences (including, without limitation, arising as a result of certain of our founders, officers and directors being required to offer acquisition opportunities to such investment funds, accounts,

co-investment

vehicles and other entities), Bain Capital Life Sciences and its affiliates will resolve such conflicts of interest in their sole discretion in accordance with their then existing fiduciary, contractual and other duties and there can be no assurance that such conflict of interest will be resolved in our favor.

Unlike other SPAC initial public offerings, investors in our initial public offering did not receive warrants that would become exercisable following completion of our initial business combination.

Status as a Public Company

We believe our structure makes us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock, shares or other equity interests in the target business for our Class A ordinary shares (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our Class A ordinary shares and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. We believe target businesses will find this method a more expeditious and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.

Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or have negative valuation consequences. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital, an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with shareholders’ interests and the ability to use its shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.

While we believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek shareholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.

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We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to 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 auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a

non-binding

advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A ordinary shares that are held by

non-affiliates

exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in

non-convertible

debt during the prior three-year period.

Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation

S-K.

Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by

non-affiliates

equals or exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by

non-affiliates

equals or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30.

Financial Position

As of December 31, 2021, we had approximately $139,368,833 available to consummate an initial business combination after payment of $5,031,250 of deferred underwriting fees. With these funds available for a business combination, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.

Effectuating Our Initial Business Combination

General

We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering, the sale of the private placements shares, our equity, debt or a combination of these as the consideration

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to be paid in our initial business combination. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.

If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-business combination company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.

We may need to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account, or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of the business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. There are no prohibitions on our ability to issue securities or incur debt in connection with our initial business combination. We are not currently a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities, the incurrence of debt or otherwise.

Although our management will assess the risks inherent in a particular target business with which we may combine, we cannot assure you that this assessment will result in our identifying all risks that a target business may encounter. Furthermore, some of those risks may be outside of our control, meaning that we can do nothing to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely affect a target business.

Sources of Target Businesses

Our process of identifying acquisition targets leverages Bain Capital’s and our management team’s unique industry experiences, proven deal sourcing capabilities and broad and deep network of relationships in numerous industries, including executives and management teams, private equity groups and other institutional investors, large business enterprises, lenders, investment bankers and other investment market participants, restructuring advisers, consultants, attorneys and accountants, which we believe should provide us with a number of business combination opportunities. The collective experience, capability and network of Bain Capital, our founders, directors and officers, combined with their individual and collective reputations in the investment community, helps to create prospective business combination opportunities.

In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates may be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and private investment funds. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us through calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read this Report and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates of which they become aware through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions.

While we have not engaged the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of a finder’s fee is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee

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will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation by the company prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). None of our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective business combination target in connection with a contemplated acquisition of such target by us. We have agreed to pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative support and to reimburse our sponsor for any

out-of-pocket

expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination. Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-business combination company following our initial business combination.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination or subsequent transaction with a company that is affiliated with Bain Capital Life Sciences or our sponsor, founders, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Bain Capital Life Sciences, our sponsor or any of our founders, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such initial business combination or transaction is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.

Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including any future special purpose acquisition companies we expect they may be involved in and entities that are affiliates of our sponsor, pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.

Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination

In evaluating a prospective target business, we conduct a thorough due diligence review which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information made available to us. If we determine to move forward with a particular target, we will proceed to structure and negotiate the terms of the business combination transaction.

The time required to identify and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of, and negotiation with, a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination. The company will not pay any consulting fees to members of our management team, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with our initial business combination. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor.

Lack of Business Diversification

For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable

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that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:

•

subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination; and

•

cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services.

Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team

Although we closely scrutinize the management of any prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.

We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.

Following a business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.

Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination

We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by applicable law or stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.

Under Nasdaq’s listing rules, shareholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:

•

we issue (other than in a public offering for cash) ordinary shares that will either (a) be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of ordinary shares then issued and outstanding (excluding the private placement shares) or (b) have voting power equal to or in excess of 20% of the voting power then issued and outstanding (excluding the private placement shares);

•

any of our directors, officers or substantial shareholders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of ordinary shares could result in an increase in outstanding ordinary shares or voting power of 5% or more; or

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•

the issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will result in our undergoing a change of control.

The Companies Act and Cayman Islands law do not currently require, and we are not aware of any other applicable law that will require, shareholder approval of our initial business combination.

The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination in those instances in which shareholder approval is not required by law will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and legal reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:

•

the timing of the transaction, including in the event we determine shareholder approval would require additional time and there is either not enough time to seek shareholder approval or doing so would place the company at a disadvantage in the transaction or result in other additional burdens on the company;

•

the expected cost of holding a shareholder vote;

•

the risk that the shareholders would fail to approve the proposed business combination;

•

other time and budget constraints of the company; and

•

additional legal complexities of a proposed business combination that would be time-consuming and burdensome to present to shareholders.

Permitted Purchases and Other Transactions with Respect to Our Securities

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will be restricted from making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material

non-public

information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).

In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our initial business combination. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will be required to comply with such rules.

The purpose of any such transactions could be to (i) vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination or (ii) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.