The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED JULY 9, 2021
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS
$200,000,000
Blue Whale Acquisition Corp I
20,000,000 Units
Blue Whale Acquisition Corp I is a newly incorporated blank check company, incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company 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 prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target. While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry or geographic location (subject to certain limitations described in this prospectus), we intend to focus our search for a target business operating in the media and content industries.
This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein, and only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. The warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, and will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation, as described in this prospectus. We have also granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 3,000,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any.
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account described below calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares that were sold as part of the units in this offering, which we refer to collectively as our public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. If we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will redeem 100% of the public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to applicable law and as further described herein.
Our sponsor, Blue Whale Sponsor I LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company (which we refer to as our “sponsor” throughout this prospectus), has committed to purchase an aggregate of 3,000,000 warrants (or 3,300,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $2.00 per warrant ($6,000,000 in the aggregate or $6,600,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. We refer to these warrants throughout this prospectus as the private placement warrants. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein.
MIC Capital Partners (Public) Parallel Cayman, LP, the direct parent of our sponsor, (which we refer to as the “forward purchase investor”), has agreed to enter into a forward purchase agreement with us, pursuant to which it will purchase, in its sole discretion, an aggregate of up to 5,000,000 of our units (for $10.00 per unit or up to $50,000,000 in the aggregate) in a private placement to occur substantially concurrently with the consummation of our initial business combination. The forward purchase investor will determine in its sole discretion the specific number of forward purchase units it will purchase, if any, pursuant to the forward purchase agreement. Each forward purchase unit will consist of one Class A ordinary share and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant. The terms of the forward purchase units will generally be identical to the terms of the units being issued in this offering, except that the securities underlying the forward purchase units will be subject to certain registration rights, as described herein.
MIC Capital Partners (Public) Parallel Cayman, LP has also committed to purchase 2,000,000 units (or 2,300,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering at the offering price of $10.00 per unit ($20,000,000 in the aggregate or $23,000,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full).
Our initial shareholders initially held 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, up to 750,000 of which were subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. Such shares have been recapitalized into 2,222,222 Class F ordinary shares and 4,444,445 Class G ordinary shares (which we respectively refer to as “Class F founder shares” and “Class G founder shares,” and collectively refer to as “founder shares” as further described herein). On July 1, 2021, our sponsor transferred 25,000 Class B ordinary shares to each of David H. Johnson, Gregg Walker, Jordan Zachary, and Zahavah Levine (our independent director nominees) and Russ Pillar (our Chief Financial Officer). Pursuant to a re-organization of our share capital effective July 5, 2021, the Class B ordinary shares have been cancelled and all of the shares presently issued and outstanding are Class F ordinary shares and Class G ordinary shares. Our independent director nominees currently hold only Class F ordinary shares.
The Class F founder shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares on the first business day following the closing of our initial business combination, at a ratio such that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class F founder shares will equal, in the aggregate on an as-converted basis, 10% of the sum of the total number of all Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering (including any over-allotment shares if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option and without giving effect to any redemptions of any public shares in connection with the initial business combination) and the total number of Class A shares issued or issuable upon conversion of the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion of the Class F founder shares, subject to certain additional adjustments as described in this prospectus. Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our Class F ordinary shares will be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors.
Our Class G founder shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares after our initial business combination only to the extent the trading price of our public shares exceeds certain thresholds after the initial business combination or in the event of a change of control transaction after our initial business combination at a ratio such that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares would equal, in the aggregate on an as-converted basis, up to 25% (based on varying triggers as discussed in more detail in this prospectus) of the sum of the total number of all Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering (including any over-allotment shares if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option and without giving effect to any redemptions of any public shares in connection with the initial business combination) plus the total number of founder shares, subject to certain additional adjustments as described in this prospectus.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants. We intend to apply to list our units on the Nasdaq Stock Market (the “Nasdaq”) under the symbol “BWCAU” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq. The Class A ordinary shares and warrants constituting the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and BofA Securities, Inc. inform us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our filing a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) containing an audited balance sheet of the company reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering and issuing a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the securities constituting the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “BWC” and “BWCAW,” respectively.
We are an “emerging growth company” and “smaller reporting company” under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our securities involves risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 54. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.
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| | Price to Public | | | Underwriting Discounts and Commissions(1) | | | Proceeds, Before Expenses, to Us | |
Per Unit | | $ | 10 | | | $ | 0.55 | | | $ | 9.45 | |
Total | | $ | 200,000,000 | | | $ | 11,000,000 | | | $ | 189,000,000 | |
(1) | Includes $0.35 per unit, or $7,000,000 (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in the aggregate, payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein. Does not include certain fees and expenses payable to the underwriters in connection with this offering. See also “Underwriting” for a description of compensation payable to the underwriters. |
Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $200.0 million or $230.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.00 per unit), will be deposited into a non-interest bearing U.S.-based trust account at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. The funds held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public shareholders.
The underwriters are offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. Delivery of the units will be made on or about , 2021.
Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
No invitation, whether directly or indirectly, may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for our securities.
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Book-Running Managers | |
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC | | | BofA Securities | |
The date of this prospectus is , 2021.