STPC Star Peak Corp II

SUMMARY HISTORICAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF BENSON HILL

The following table sets forth summary historical financial information derived from Benson Hill’s audited financial statements as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019.

You should read the following summary financial information in conjunction with Benson Hill’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and Benson Hill’s historical consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto contained elsewhere in this prospectus. The historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected in the future.

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SUMMARY HISTORICAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF ZFS CRESTON

The following table sets forth summary historical financial information derived from ZFS Creston’s audited financial statements as of October 31, 2021 and 2020, and for the years ended October 31, 2021 and 2020.

You should read the following summary financial information in conjunction with ZFS Creston’s financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. The historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected in the future.

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SUMMARY UNAUDITED PRO FORMA COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION

The summary unaudited pro forma combined financial information gives pro forma effect to the Merger, the Acquisition and related Loan, and the PIPE investment as defined and more fully described below and elsewhere in this prospectus.

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet as of December 31, 2021 gives pro forma effect to the closing of the PIPE investment as if it had occurred on that date. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet as of December 31, 2021 does not include pro forma adjustments for the Merger or the Acquisition and related Loan as these transactions are already reflected in the Company’s historical audited balance sheet as of December 31, 2021. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 combines the historical audited consolidated statement of operations of Benson Hill for the year ended December 31, 2021, the historical unaudited condensed consolidated statement of operations of STPC for the period of January 1, 2021 through September 28, 2021, the day before the closing of the Merger, and the historical audited statement of operations of ZFS Creston for the year ended October 31, 2021, giving pro forma effect to the Merger, the Acquisition and related Loan, and the closing of the PIPE investment as if each had occurred as of January 1, 2021, the first day of the fiscal year.

The historical consolidated financial information has been adjusted in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements to give effect to pro forma events that are (i) directly attributable to the Merger, the Acquisition and related Loan, and the PIPE investment, (ii) factually supportable, and (iii) with respect to the statement of operations, expected to have a continuing impact on the combined company’s results.

The historical financial information of STPC was derived from the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of STPC for the period of January 1, 2021 through September 28, 2021 from the quarterly filings and books and records of STPC. The historical financial information of ZFS Creston was derived from the audited financial statements of ZFS Creston as of and for the year ended October 31, 2021, which are included elsewhere in this prospectus. The historical financial information of Benson Hill was derived from the audited financial statements of Benson Hill as of and for the year ended December 31, 2021, which are included elsewhere in this prospectus.

The summary pro forma information has been derived from, and should be read in conjunction with, the unaudited pro forma combined financial information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus and the accompanying notes. The unaudited pro forma combined financial information is based upon, and should be read in conjunction with, the historical consolidated financial statements of STPC, ZFS Creston and Benson Hill and related notes included in this prospectus. The summary of unaudited pro forma combined financial information is for illustrative purposes only. The financial results may have been different had the companies always been combined. You should not rely on the unaudited pro forma combined financial information as being indicative of the historical financial position and results that would have been achieved had the companies always been combined or the future financial position and results that the post-combination company will experience. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information does not reflect any potential cost savings that may be realized as a result of the Acquisition and also does not reflect any integration-related costs. Material intercompany transactions between Benson Hill and ZFS Creston during the periods presented in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements have been eliminated.

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UNAUDITED HISTORICAL COMPARATIVE AND PRO FORMA COMBINED PER SHARE INFORMATION

The following table sets forth the unaudited historical comparative share information for STPC, ZFS Creston and Benson Hill on a stand-alone basis and the unaudited pro forma combined share information for the year ended December 31, 2021 after giving effect to the Merger, the Acquisition and related Loan, and the PIPE investment.

You should read the information in the following table in conjunction with the summary historical financial information included elsewhere in this prospectus, and the historical financial statements of STPC, ZFS Creston and Benson Hill and related notes that are included elsewhere in this prospectus. The unaudited pro forma combined share information is derived from, and should be read in conjunction with, the unaudited pro forma combined financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

The unaudited pro forma combined share information below does not purport to represent what the actual results of operations or the earnings per share would have been had the companies been combined during the periods presented, nor to project Benson Hill’s results of operations or earnings per share for any future date or period. The unaudited pro forma combined stockholders’ equity per share information below does not purport to represent what the value of Benson Hill and STPC would have been had the companies been combined during the periods presented.

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We expect we will need to raise additional funding to achieve our goals, and a failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed on acceptable terms, or at all, may force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development efforts or other operations.

Since our inception, substantially all of our resources have been dedicated to the development of our core technology and product platforms, including purchases of property, plant and equipment. We believe that we will continue to expend substantial resources for the foreseeable future as we build and enhance our capabilities and commercialize our products. These expenditures are expected to include costs associated with research and development, manufacturing and supply, marketing and selling existing and new products, working capital, costs of acquiring and building out new facilities, costs associated with planting and harvesting, such as the purchase of seeds and growing supplies, and the cost of attracting and retaining a skilled local labor force. In addition, other anticipated costs may arise due to the unique nature of our controlled environment agriculture facilities. In addition, other unanticipated costs may arise.

As of December 31, 2021, we had cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities of $182.7 million, term debt and notes payable of $84.1 million and an accumulated deficit of $280.6 million. For the year ended December 31, 2021, we incurred a net loss of $126.2 million, had negative cash flows from operating activities of $117.8 million, and violated certain financial covenants under our term debt agreement, which were subsequently amended or waived, as applicable. As described elsewhere in this Annual Report (including Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources, and Note 23— Subsequent Events, in the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements), in March 2022 we entered into subscription agreements with a number of investors that resulted in proceeds, net of issuance costs, of approximately $81.1 million. While we believe that our cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities on hand as of December 31, 2021, in addition to the proceeds from the subscription agreements completed in March 2022, are sufficient to meet the needs of operations, including working capital requirements, debt requirements and our currently planned capital expenditure requirements for a period of at least 12 months from the date of this Annual Report, we expect we will need to raise additional funding to achieve our strategic goals and execute our business plan.

Our business prospects are subject to risks, expenses, and uncertainties frequently encountered by companies in the early stages of commercial operations. To date, we have been funded primarily by equity and debt financings, including the issuance of convertible preferred stock, term debt, and revolving debt. See “We are subject to numerous affirmative and negative covenants with respect to certain debt financings. The covenants may impede our ability to execute our business plan and, if breached, may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition” below.

The attainment of profitable operations is also dependent upon future events, including obtaining adequate financing to complete and commercialize our research and development activities, obtaining adequate grower relationships, building our customer base, successfully executing our business and marketing strategy and hiring appropriate personnel.

We do not expect that we will be able to fund our longer-term capital and liquidity needs based on our current cash balances and operating cash flow alone. To the extent we continue to incur losses, our liquidity needs could increase. To fund our longer-term capital and liquidity needs, we expect we will need to secure additional capital. However, our business plan and financing needs are subject to change depending on, among other things:

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We may seek to obtain additional funds through public or private equity or debt financings or other sources, such as strategic collaborations. Although we anticipate being able to obtain additional financing through non-dilutive means, we may be unable to do so. Such financings may result in dilution to stockholders, issuance of securities with priority as to liquidation and dividend and other rights more favorable than common stock, imposition of debt covenants and repayment obligations, or other restrictions that may adversely affect our business. In addition, we may seek additional capital due to favorable market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe that we have sufficient funds for current or future operating plans. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet existing financial covenants or that new financing will be available to us on favorable terms, or at all. Our failure to raise capital as and when needed may make it more difficult for us to operate our business or implement our growth plans and we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our manufacturing, research and development activities, growth and expansion plans, establishment of sales and marketing capabilities or other activities that may be necessary to generate revenue and achieve profitability, any of which could have significant negative consequences for our business, financial condition and results of consolidated operations.

The market price of our common stock is highly volatile, which could lead to losses by investors and costly securities litigation.

The market price for our common stock is highly volatile. For example, since we consummated the Merger, the closing sales price of our common stock, which is listed on the NYSE under the symbol “BHIL,” has fluctuated from a high of $9.87 per share on September 29, 2021, the day we consummated the Merger, to a low of $2.60 per share on February 14, 2022. As of April 7, 2022, the closing sales price of our common stock was $3.25 per share. The stock market recently has experienced extreme volatility. This volatility often has appeared to be unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of particular companies. You may not be able to resell your shares of our common stock at an attractive price due to a number of factors such as those listed in “Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry” and the following:

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Broad market and industry fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance, financial results or prospects. In addition, price volatility may be greater if the public float and trading volume of our common stock is low. Some companies that have had volatile market prices for their securities have been the target of a hostile takeover or subject to involvement by activist stockholders. If we were to become the target of such a situation, it could result in substantial costs and divert resources and the attention of executive management from our business.

The current market price of our securities may not be indicative of future market prices or intrinsic value, and we may not be able to sustain or increase the value of an investment in our securities. Investors in our securities may experience a decrease, which could be substantial, in the value of their securities, including decreases unrelated to our operating performance, financial results or prospects. Your only opportunity to achieve a return on your investment in our securities may be if the market price of our securities appreciates and you sell your securities at a profit. The market price for our securities may never exceed, and may fall below, the price that you paid for such securities. You could lose all or part of your investment in us as a result.

In the past, following periods of market volatility, stockholders have instituted securities class action litigation. If we were involved in securities litigation, it could have a substantial cost and divert resources and the attention of executive management from our business regardless of the outcome of such litigation.

We face significant competition and many of our competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and other resources than we do.

The market for plant-based products is highly competitive, and we face significant direct and indirect competition in several aspects of our business. Mergers and acquisitions in the plant science, specialty food ingredient, and agricultural biotechnology and seed industries may result in the further concentration of resources among a smaller number of our competitors.

Most of our competitors have substantially greater financial, technical, marketing, sales, distribution, supply chain infrastructure, and other resources than we do, such as larger research and development staff, more experienced marketing, manufacturing, and supply chain organizations and more well-established sales forces. As a result, we may be unable to compete successfully against our current or future competitors, which may result in price reductions, reduced margins and/or the inability to achieve market acceptance for our products. We expect to continue to face significant competition in the markets in which we intend to commercialize our products.

Many of our competitors engage in ongoing research and development, and technological developments by our competitors could render our products less competitive or obsolete, resulting in reduced sales compared to our expectations. Our ability to compete effectively and to achieve commercial success depends in part on our ability to control manufacturing and marketing costs, effectively price and market our products, successfully develop an effective marketing program and an efficient supply chain, develop new

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products with properties attractive to customers, and commercialize our products quickly without incurring major regulatory costs. We may not be successful in achieving these factors and any such failure may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

From time to time, certain companies that are potential competitors of ours may seek new traits or trait development technologies and may seek to license our technology for such purposes. We have, in the past, entered into such licensing arrangements and may enter into similar arrangements in the future. Some of these companies may have significantly greater financial resources than we do and may compete with our business, which could enable such competitors to use our technologies to develop their own products that would compete with our products.

We also anticipate increased future competition as new companies enter the market and new technologies become available, particularly in the area of gene editing. Our technology may be rendered obsolete or uneconomical by technological advances or entirely different approaches developed by our competitors that are more effective or that enable them to develop and commercialize products more quickly, more efficiently or with lower expense than we do. Our ability to generate revenues from the commercialization of our products may be limited or prevented if for any reason our technology becomes obsolete or uneconomical relative to that of our competitors’ technologies.

Any collaboration arrangements that we may enter in the future may not be successful, which could adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates.

We may seek collaboration arrangements with third parties for the development or commercialization of our products. To the extent that we decide to enter collaboration arrangements, we will face significant competition in seeking appropriate partners. Moreover, collaboration arrangements are complex and time-consuming to negotiate, document, implement and maintain. We may not be successful in our efforts to establish and implement collaboration or other alternative arrangements should we so chose to enter such arrangements. The terms of any collaborations or other alternative arrangements that we may establish may not be favorable to us.

To compete effectively, we must introduce new products that achieve market acceptance.

In order to remain competitive and increase revenue, we must introduce new products from our pipeline of product candidates. If we fail to anticipate or respond to technological developments, market requirements, or consumer preferences, or if we are significantly delayed in developing and introducing products, our revenues will not increase.

Development of successful agricultural products using gene-editing technologies requires significant levels of investment in research and development, including laboratory, greenhouse and field testing, to demonstrate product effectiveness and can take several years or more. We incurred research and development expenses of $40.6 million in the year ended December 31, 2021, $29.5 million in the year ended December 31, 2020, and $24.8 million in the year ended December 31, 2019. We must commit significant resources and may incur obligations (such as royalty obligations or milestone fees) to develop new products before knowing whether our investments will result in products the market will accept and without knowing the levels of revenue, if any, that may be derived from these products.

Development of new or improved agricultural products involve risks of failure inherent in the development of products based on innovative and complex technologies. These risks include the possibility that:

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Accordingly, if we experience any significant delays in the development or introduction of new products or if our new products do not achieve market acceptance, our business, operating results and financial condition would be adversely affected.

If our early testing of pipeline products is unsuccessful, we may be unable to complete the development of product candidates on a timely basis or at all.

We rely on early testing and research, including greenhouse activities and field trials, to demonstrate the efficacy of product candidates that we develop and evaluate. Field trials allow us to test product candidates in the field as well as to increase seed production, and to measure performance across multiple geographies and conditions. Successful completion of early testing is critical to the success of our product development efforts. If our ongoing or future testing is unsuccessful or produces inconsistent results or unanticipated adverse effects on the agronomic performance of our crops, or if the testing does not produce reliable data, our product development efforts could be delayed, subject to additional regulatory review or abandoned entirely. In addition, in order to support our commercialization efforts, it is necessary to collect data across multiple growing seasons and from different geographies. Even in cases where initial field trials are successful, we cannot be certain that additional field trials conducted on a greater number of acres or in different geographies will also be successful. Many factors that are beyond our control may adversely affect the success of these field trials, including unique geographic conditions, weather and climatic variations, disease or pests, or acts of protest or vandalism. Field trials, which may take up to two to three years, are costly, and any field trial failures that we may experience may not be covered by insurance and, therefore, could result in increased costs, which may negatively impact our business and results of operations.

The successful commercialization of our products depends on our ability to produce high-quality products cost-effectively on a large scale and to accurately forecast demand for our products, and we may be unable to do so.

The production of commercial-scale quantities of seeds and products requires the multiplication of the plants or seeds through a succession of plantings and seed harvests. The cost-effective production of high-quality, high-volume quantities of any product candidates we successfully develop depends on our ability to scale our production processes to produce plants and seeds in enough quantity to meet demand. For example, food ingredients such as soybean oil and soy protein concentrate will require optimized production and commercialization of the underlying plant and seed harvests. We cannot assure that our existing or future seed production techniques will enable us to meet our large-scale production goals cost-effectively for the products in our pipeline. Even if we are successful in developing ways to minimize yield drag and enhance quality, we may not be able to do so cost effectively or on a timely basis, which could adversely affect our ability to achieve profitability. If we are unable to maintain or enhance the quality of our plants and seeds as we increase our production capacity, including through the expected use of third parties, we may experience reductions in customer or farmer demand, higher costs and increased inventory write-offs.

In addition, because of the length of time it takes to produce commercial quantities of marketable seeds, we will need to make seed production decisions well in advance of product sales. Our ability to accurately forecast supply can be adversely affected by several factors outside of our control, including changes in market conditions, environmental factors, such as pests and diseases, and adverse weather conditions. A shortfall in the supply of our products may reduce product revenue, damage our reputation in the market and adversely affect relationships. Any product surplus we have on hand may negatively impact cash flows, reduce the quality of our inventory and ultimately result in write-offs of inventory.

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Additionally, we will take financial risk in our inventory given that we will have to keep the inventory at its net realizable value on our balance sheet. Fluctuations in the spot price of our crops in inventory could have negative impacts on our consolidated financial statements. Any failure on our part to produce enough inventory, or overproduction of a product, could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, our customers may cancel orders, request a decrease in quantity, or make returns, which may lead to a surplus of our products.

While we estimate that the potential size of our target markets for our products is significant, that estimate has not been independently verified and is based on certain assumptions that may not prove to be accurate. Our ability to accurately forecast demand is dependent on the timing of customer decisions, qualification cycles, and other factors outside of our control. As a result, these estimates could differ materially from actual market sizes, which could result in decreased demand for our products and therefore adversely impact our future business prospects, results of operation and financial condition.

If we fail to manage our future growth effectively, our business could be materially adversely affected.

We have grown rapidly since inception and anticipate further growth. For example, our revenues increased from $79.5 million in 2019 to $114.2 million in 2020 to $147.2 million in 2021. Our full-time employee count as of December 31, 2021 has grown by approximately 500% since December 31, 2019. This growth has and is likely to continue to place significant demands on our management, financial, operational, technological and other resources. The anticipated growth and expansion of our business and our product offerings will continue to require significant additional resources to meet our needs, which may not be available in a cost-effective manner, or at all. If we do not effectively manage our growth, we may not be able to execute on our business plan, respond to competitive pressures, take advantage of market opportunities, satisfy customer requirements or maintain high-quality product offerings, any of which could harm our business, brand, results of operations and financial condition.

The successful commercialization of our products may face challenges from public perceptions of gene-edited products and ethical, legal, environmental, health and social concerns.

The successful commercialization of our product candidates depends, in part, on public acceptance of gene-edited agricultural products.

Consumers may not understand the nature of our technologies or the scientific distinction between our non-transgenic gene-edited products and transgenic products of competitors. Non-transgenic gene-edited products are final products that do not contain any genes foreign to the plant species. As a result, they may transfer negative perceptions and attitudes regarding transgenic products to our products and product candidates. A lack of understanding of our technologies may also make consumers more susceptible to the influence of negative information provided by opponents of biotechnology. Some opponents of biotechnology actively seek to raise public concern about gene editing, whether transgenic or non-transgenic, by claiming that plant products developed using biotechnology are unsafe for consumption or that their use poses a risk of damage to the environment, or creates legal, social and ethical dilemmas. The commercial success of our products and product candidates may be adversely affected by such claims, even if unsubstantiated. Opponents of biotechnology have also vandalized the fields of farmers planting biotech seeds and facilities used by biotechnology companies, and any such acts of vandalism targeting the fields of our farmer partners, our field-testing sites or our research, production or other facilities could adversely affect our sales and our costs.

Negative public perceptions about gene editing can also affect the regulatory environment in the jurisdictions in which we are targeting the sale of our products and the commercialization of our product candidates. Any increase in such negative perceptions or any restrictive government regulations enacted in response could have a negative effect on our business and may delay or impair the sale of our products or the development or commercialization of our product candidates. Public pressure may also lead to increased regulation of products produced using biotechnology, further legislation regarding novel trait development technologies or administrative litigation concerning prior regulatory determinations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to sell our product or commercialize our product candidates. In addition, labeling requirements could heighten public concerns and make consumers less likely to purchase our food products containing gene-edited ingredients.

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If our products become adulterated, misbranded, or mislabeled, we might need to recall those items and may experience product liability claims if consumers or animals are injured.

We sell our products in the human and animal food market segments. If our products become adulterated, misbranded or mislabeled we may need to recall such products. A widespread product recall could result in significant losses due to the costs of a recall, the destruction of product inventory, and lost sales due to the unavailability of product for a period of time. We could also suffer losses from a significant product liability judgment against us. A significant product recall or product liability case or judgment against us could also result in adverse publicity, damage to our reputation, and a loss of consumer or purchaser confidence in our products, which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition and the value of our brands.

Products that we develop, and food containing our products, may fail to meet standards established by third-party non-GMO verification organizations, which could reduce the value of our products to customers.

Certain third-party organizations offer verification programs that seek to identify non-GMO products to consumers. These organizations verify the status of products (such as foods, beverages and vitamins) as non-GMO based on independently developed standards, and often authorize the display of specific markers or labels illustrating such status on the verified product’s packaging. Standards established by such third-party organizations for the verification of non-GMO status may differ from applicable regulatory legal standards applied by regulators in the United States. As a result, notwithstanding a determination as to the non-regulated status of a product pursuant to the regulatory procedures of the APHIS of the USDA (or a similar determination in other jurisdictions), our products, and third-party products that utilize our gene-edited products as ingredients, may fail to meet more restrictive or non-scientific standards imposed by these independent verification organizations, which could result in reduced sales of such products and have an adverse effect on our revenues.

If we are sued for defective products and if such lawsuits were determined adversely, we could be subject to substantial damages, for which insurance coverage is not available.

We may be held liable if any product we develop, or any product that uses or incorporates any of our technologies, is found unsuitable for use or consumption during marketing, sale, or consumption of our products. For example, the detection of an unintended trait in a commercial seed variety or the crops and products produced may result in governmental actions such as mandated crop destruction, product recalls or environmental cleanup or monitoring. Concerns about seed quality could also lead to additional regulations being imposed on our business, such as regulations related to testing procedures, mandatory governmental reviews of biotechnology advances, or additional regulations relating to the integrity of the food supply chain from the farm to the finished product.

We identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. If we are unable to remediate the material weakness, or if we identify additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, this may result in material misstatements or restatements of our consolidated financial statements or cause us to fail to meet our periodic reporting obligations.

As a public company, we are required to provide management’s attestation on internal control over financial reporting. Management may not be able to effectively and timely implement controls and procedures that adequately respond to the increased regulatory compliance and reporting requirements that apply to us as a public company. If we are not able to implement the additional requirements of Section 404(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) in a timely manner or with adequate compliance, we may not be able to assess whether our internal control over financial reporting is effective, which may subject us to adverse regulatory consequences and could harm investor confidence and the market price of our securities.

In connection with the preparation and audit of our consolidated financial statements, a material weakness was identified in our internal control over financial reporting relating to the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, which remains unremediated as of December 31, 2021. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

We did not design or maintain an effective control environment commensurate with our financial reporting requirements. Specifically, we did not maintain a sufficient complement of personnel to appropriately analyze, record and disclose accounting

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matters commensurate with our accounting and reporting requirements. Further, we did not design and maintain formal accounting policies, procedures and controls over significant accounts and disclosures to achieve complete, and accurate financial accounting, reporting and disclosures.

The material weakness related to formal accounting policies, procedures and controls resulted in adjustments to certain accounts and disclosures. The material weakness could result in a misstatement of account balances or disclosures that would result in a material misstatement to the annual or interim consolidated financial statements that would not be prevented or detected.

We have begun implementation of a plan to remediate these material weaknesses, as discussed in Item 9A of this report. These remediation measures are ongoing and include hiring additional accounting and financial reporting personnel and implementing additional policies, procedures and controls.

In order to maintain and improve the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, we have expended, and anticipate that we will continue to expend, significant resources, including accounting-related costs and significant management oversight. Our independent registered public accounting firm is not required to formally attest to the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting until after we are no longer an “emerging growth company” as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”). At such time, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level at which our internal control over financial reporting is documented, designed, or operating. Any failure to maintain effective disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting could adversely affect our business and operating results and could cause a decline in the price of our securities.

Our risk management strategies may not be effective.

Our business includes contracting with farmers to plant and harvest our proprietary seeds. While our proprietary seeds are not commodities, we purchase crops using a commodity base price. Therefore, we can be affected by fluctuations in agricultural commodity prices. Also, our business is affected by fluctuations in agricultural commodity prices to the extent we purchase commodity seeds for processing at our processing facilities. The legacy, non-proprietary commodity processing business of our newly acquired Creston and Seymour facilities further exposes us to commodity-based price fluctuations. From time to time, we engage in hedging transactions to manage risks associated with the fluctuation of commodity prices. Continued commodity volatility is expected and our commodity hedging activities may not sufficiently offset this volatility.

Entering into hedging transactions or utilizing other hedging techniques may not always be possible, our exposures may not always be fully hedged, and our hedging strategies may not be successful in mitigating our exposure to the financial risks presented by fluctuations in agricultural commodity prices. In addition, the use of hedging transactions involves certain risks, including the risk of an imperfect correlation between the risk sought to be hedged and the hedging transaction used, the possibility that our counterparty fails to honor its obligations, and the risk that we are unable to close out or unwind a hedging transaction on terms that are favorable to us, if at all. While we have implemented risk management policies, practices, and procedures to mitigate potential losses, they may not in all cases be successful in anticipating significant risk exposures and mitigating losses that have the potential to impair our financial position. Although we may enter into hedging transactions to seek to reduce the risks associated with fluctuations in agricultural commodity prices, we cannot make assurances that such hedging transactions will adequately protect us against these risks, and they may instead result in a poorer overall performance than if we had not engaged in such hedging transactions.

We depend on key management personnel and attracting, training and retaining other qualified personnel, and our business could be harmed if we lose key management personnel or cannot attract, train and retain other qualified personnel.

Our success and future growth depend largely upon the technical skills and continued service of our executive officers as well as other key employees. These executives and key employees have been primarily responsible for determining the strategic direction of the business and executing our growth strategy and are integral to our brand, culture and reputation with distributors and others in the industry. From time to time, there may be changes in our executive management team or other key employees resulting from the hiring or departure of these personnel. The loss of one or more executive officers or the failure by the executive team to effectively work with employees and lead the company could harm our business.

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Additionally, the majority of our personnel is involved in research, development and regulatory activities and competition for these highly skilled employees is intense. Our business is therefore dependent on our ability to recruit, train and retain a highly skilled and educated workforce with expertise in a range of disciplines, including biology, biochemistry, plant genetics, agronomics, mathematics, agribusiness, and other subjects relevant to our operations. If we are unable to hire and retain skilled and highly educated personnel, it could limit our growth and hinder our research and development efforts. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in attracting or retaining such personnel and the failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Further, our success depends in part upon our ability to attract, train and retail a sufficient number of employees who understand and appreciate our culture and can represent our brand effectively and establish credibility with our business partners and consumers. We believe a critical component of our success has been our company culture and long-standing core values. We have invested substantial time and resources in building our team. If we are unable to hire and retain employees capable of meeting our business needs and expectations, or if we fail to preserve our company culture among a larger number of employees dispersed in various geographic regions as we continue to grow and develop the infrastructure associated with being a more mature public company, our business and brand image may be impaired. Any failure to meet our staffing needs or any material increase in turnover rates of our employees may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our management has limited experience in operating a public company.

Our executive officers have limited experience in the management of a publicly traded company. Our management team may not successfully or effectively manage our transition to a public company, which has and will continue to subject us to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under federal securities laws. Their limited experience in dealing with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies could be a significant disadvantage in that it is likely that an increasing amount of their time may be devoted to these activities which will result in less time being devoted to the management and growth of our company. We may not have adequate personnel with the appropriate level of knowledge, experience, and training in the accounting policies, practices or internal controls over financial reporting required of public companies. The development and implementation of the standards and controls necessary for us to achieve the level of accounting standards required of a public company may require costs greater than expected. It is possible that we will be required to expand our employee base and hire additional employees to support our operations as a public company, which would increase our operating costs in future periods.

We incur increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management devotes substantial time to new compliance initiatives.

As a public company, we incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company, and these expenses may increase even more after we are no longer an emerging growth company, as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Securities Act. As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, as well as rules adopted, and to be adopted, by the SEC and the NYSE. Our management and other personnel will devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations have substantially increased our legal and financial compliance costs and made some activities more time-consuming and costly. The increased costs contribute to our net loss. For example, these rules and regulations make it more difficult and more expensive to obtain director and officer liability insurance, compared to when we were a private company, and we may be forced to accept reduced policy limits or incur substantially higher costs to maintain the same or similar coverage. We cannot predict or estimate the amount or timing of any additional costs we may incur to respond to these requirements. The impact of these requirements could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors, our board committees or as executive officers.

Cybersecurity vulnerabilities, threats and more sophisticated and targeted computer crimes could pose a risk to our systems, networks, products and data.

Increased global cybersecurity vulnerabilities, threats, computer viruses and more sophisticated and targeted cyber-related attacks (such as the recent increasing use of “ransomware” and phishing attacks), as well as cybersecurity failures resulting from human error, catastrophic events (such as fires, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes), and technological errors, pose a risk to our systems, products and data as well as potentially to our employees’, customers’, partners’, suppliers’ and third-party service providers’ systems and data. An attack could result in security breaches, theft, lost or corrupted data, misappropriation of sensitive, confidential or personal data or

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information, loss of trade secrets, other intellectual property and commercially valuable information, production downtimes and operational disruptions. The financial and/or operational impact from such threats could negatively impact our business.

We rely on information technology systems and any inadequacy, failure, interruption or security breaches of those systems may harm our ability to effectively operate our business.

We are dependent on various information technology systems, including, but not limited to, networks, applications and outsourced services in connection with the current and planned operation of our business. A failure of these information technology systems to perform as anticipated could cause our business to suffer. In addition, our information technology systems may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from circumstances beyond our control, including fire, natural disasters, systems failures, viruses and security breaches. Any such damage or interruption could negatively impact our business.

Our business activities are currently conducted at a limited number of locations, which makes us susceptible to damage or business disruptions caused by natural disasters or acts of vandalism.

Our current headquarters and research and development facilities, which include an office, labs, greenhouses, field testing acreage and a demonstration test kitchen, are primarily located in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition, we acquired an established food grade white flake and soy flour manufacturing operation in Creston, Iowa in December 2021, and a soy crushing facility in Seymour, Indiana in September 2021, and in October 2021, we opened our new Crop Accelerator, a state-of-the-art, controlled environment research facility located near our St. Louis headquarters. Our seed production, field-testing and production and research take place primarily in the United States, with concentration in certain geographic regions. Third party warehousing for seed storage, and our limited number of processing partners (e.g., storage, transportation, crushers and refiners) are all currently located in the United States. We take precautions to safeguard our facilities, including through insurance coverage and by implementing health and safety protocols, however our insurance may not cover certain losses or our losses may exceed our coverage limits. A natural disaster, such as a hurricane, drought, fire, flood, tornado, earthquake, or other intentional or negligent acts, including acts of vandalism, could damage or destroy our equipment, inventory, development projects, field trials or data, and cause us to incur significant additional expenses to repair or replace the damaged physical facilities, which in the case of seed production may be the result of years of development work that is not easily or quickly reproduced, and could lengthen the development schedule for our pipeline of product candidates.

Disruptions in the worldwide economy may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The global economy can be negatively impacted by a variety of factors such as the spread or fear of spread of contagious diseases (such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic) in locations where our products are sold, man-made or natural disasters, actual or threatened war (such as the current conflict in Ukraine), terrorist activity, political unrest, civil strife and other geopolitical uncertainty. Such adverse and uncertain economic conditions may impact distributor, retailer, foodservice and consumer demand for our products. In addition, our ability to manage normal commercial relationships with our suppliers, co-manufacturers, distributors, retailers, restaurant and foodservice customers and consumers and creditors may suffer. Consumers may shift purchases to lower-priced or other perceived value offerings during economic downturns as a result of various factors, including job losses, inflation, higher taxes, reduced access to credit, change in federal economic policy and recent international trade disputes. In particular, consumers may reduce the amount of plant-based food products that they purchase where there are conventional animal-based protein offerings, which generally have lower retail prices. In addition, consumers may choose to purchase private label products rather than branded products because they are generally less expensive. A decrease in consumer discretionary spending may also result in consumers reducing the frequency and amount spent on food prepared away from home. Distributors, retailers and foodservice customers may become more conservative in response to these conditions and seek to reduce their inventories. Our results of operations depend upon, among other things, our ability to maintain and increase sales volume with our existing distributors, retailer and foodservice customers, our ability to attract new consumers, the financial condition of our consumers and our ability to provide products that appeal to consumers at the right price. Decreases in demand for our products without a corresponding decrease in costs would put downward pressure on margins and would negatively impact our financial results. Prolonged unfavorable economic conditions or uncertainty may have an adverse effect on our sales and profitability and may result in consumers making long-lasting changes to their discretionary spending behavior on a more permanent basis.

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To the extent we pursue strategic acquisitions, divestitures or joint ventures, we might experience operating difficulties and other consequences that may harm our business, financial condition, and operating results, and we may not be able to successfully consummate favorable transactions or successfully integrate acquired businesses.

We may pursue acquisitions or investments that we believe will help us achieve our strategic objectives. For example, we acquired an established food grade white flake and soy manufacturing operation in Creston, Iowa in December 2021, and a soy crushing facility in Seymour, Indiana in September 2021. However, we may not be able to find other acquisition candidates in the future, and even if we do, we may not be able to complete acquisitions on favorable terms, if at all, and any such candidates may not be suitable for our business. If we do complete acquisitions, we may not ultimately achieve our goals or realize the anticipated benefits. The pursuit of such acquisitions could divert management time and focus from operation of our then-existing business and any integration process will require significant time and resources, which we may not be able to manage successfully. In addition, any acquisitions we complete could be viewed negatively by our customers or consumers and cause decreases in customer loyalty or product orders, which could negatively impact our financial condition. An acquisition, investment or other transaction, such as the acquisition of the Creston and Seymour facilities, for example, may also result in unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures by disrupting our ongoing operations, subjecting us to additional liabilities (both known and unknown) and increasing our expenses, any of which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. Moreover, the anticipated benefits of any acquisition, investment or business relationship may not be realized if, for example, we fail to retain and develop the acquired workforce, fail to integrate financial reporting systems, fail to manage the effects of unknown contingent liabilities, or are otherwise unable to successfully integrate the acquired business into our company. To pay for any such acquisitions, we would have to use cash, incur debt, or issue equity securities, each of which may affect our financial condition or the value of our securities and could result in dilution to our stockholders. For example, in connection with the Creston acquisition, we borrowed $80 million under a new debt facility to finance the purchase price of the Creston acquisition, with the potential to access an additional aggregate sum of $20 million between April 30, 2022 and June 30, 2022, if we achieve certain milestones. We used $80 million of this new debt facility to finance the purchase price of the Creston acquisition. If we incur more debt it would result in increased fixed obligations and could also subject us to covenants or other restrictions that would impede our ability to manage our operations. The integration of an acquired business such as Creston or any other acquired business, whether or not successful, requires significant efforts which may result in additional expenses and divert the attention of our management and technical personnel from other projects, which could disrupt our business and harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting deterioration of worldwide economic conditions adversely impact our business, financial condition, and operating results will depend on future developments, which are difficult to predict.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, governmental authorities have implemented numerous and rapidly evolving measures to try to contain the virus, such as travel bans and restrictions, limits on gatherings, quarantines, shelter-in-place orders, and business shutdowns. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and in accordance with governmental orders, we have also modified our business practices and implemented proactive measures to protect the health and safety of employees, including restricting employee travel, requiring, at times, remote work arrangements for non-laboratory employees, implementing social distancing, and enhanced sanitary measures in our headquarters, and cancelling attendance at events and conferences. Many of the suppliers, vendors, and service providers on whom we rely on have made similar modifications. To date, with the exception of us modifying our physical business practices, including lower travel, and delays in the receipt of certain laboratory supplies and the performance of related services, we have not experienced a material impact on business operations from the effects of COVID-19. There is no certainty measures implemented by government authorities will be sufficient to mitigate the risks posed by, or the impacts and disruptions of, the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and government actions to contain it, related volatility in the financial markets and deterioration of national and global economic conditions, we could experience material adverse operational and financial impacts, including:

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The degree to which COVID-19 impacts our business and results will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including, but not limited to, the severity, duration and geographic spread of the outbreak, and the global, national, and regional actions to contain the virus and address its impact, including travel restrictions imposed, business closures or business disruption.

The resumption of normal business operations after interruptions caused by COVID-19 may be delayed or constrained by lingering effects of COVID-19 on us or our suppliers, third-party service providers, counterparties in collaboration arrangement or licenses, or customers. Even after the COVID-19 outbreak has subsided, we may experience material and adverse impacts on its business, operating results, and financial condition as a result of the global economic impact of COVID-19 outbreak, including any recession that has occurred or may occur in the future.

The impact of COVID-19 may also exacerbate other risks discussed in this “Risk Factors” section, any of which could have a material effect on us. This situation is changing rapidly, and additional impacts may arise that we are not aware of currently.

Risks Relating to Our Industry

The overall agricultural industry is susceptible to commodity price changes and we are exposed to market risks from changes in commodity prices.

Conditions in the U.S. agricultural industry significantly impact our operating results. Changes in the prices of commodities products could result in higher overall cost along the agricultural supply chain, which may negatively affect our ability to commercialize our products. We are susceptible to changes in costs in the agricultural industry as a result of factors beyond our control, such as general economic conditions, seasonal fluctuations, weather conditions, demand, food safety concerns, product recalls and government regulations. As a result, we may not be able to anticipate or react to changing costs by adjusting our practices, which could cause our operating results to deteriorate.

Adverse weather conditions, natural disasters, crop disease, pests and other natural conditions can impose significant costs and losses on our business.

The ability to grow our products is vulnerable to adverse weather conditions, including windstorms, floods, drought and temperature extremes, the effects of which may be influenced and intensified by ongoing global climate change. Unfavorable growing conditions can reduce both crop size and crop quality. In extreme cases, entire harvests may be lost in some geographic areas. Such adverse conditions can result in harvesting delays or loss of crops for farmers and cause us to be delayed, or to fail entirely in delivering product to customers, resulting in loss of revenue. Furthermore, significant fluctuations in market prices for agricultural inputs and crops could also have an adverse effect on the prices of our products.

The ability to grow our products is also vulnerable to crop disease and to pests, which may vary in severity and effect, depending on the stage of production at the time of infection or infestation, the type of treatment applied, climatic conditions and the risks associated with ongoing global climate change. The costs to control disease and infestations vary depending on the severity of the damage and the extent of the plantings affected. Moreover, there can be no assurance that available technologies to remedy or control such diseases and infestations will continue to be effective. These diseases and infestations can also increase costs, decrease revenues

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and lead to additional charges to earnings, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations.

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We are subject to numerous environmental, health and safety laws and regulations relating to our use of biological materials and our food production operations. Compliance with such laws and regulations could be time consuming and costly.

We are subject to numerous federal, state, local and foreign environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including those governing laboratory procedures, the handling, use, storage, treatment, manufacture and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes, discharge of pollutants into the environment and human health and safety matters. Our research and development processes involve the controlled use of hazardous materials, including biological materials. We may be sued for any injury or contamination that results from our use or the use by third parties of these materials, or may otherwise be required to remediate such contamination, and our liability may exceed any insurance coverage and our total assets. Compliance with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations may be expensive and may impair our research and development efforts. If we fail to comply with these requirements, we could incur substantial costs and liabilities, including civil or criminal fines and penalties, clean-up costs or capital expenditures for control equipment or operational changes necessary to achieve and maintain compliance. In addition, we cannot predict the impact on our business of new or amended environmental, health and safety laws or regulations or any changes in the way existing and future laws and regulations are interpreted and enforced. These current or future laws and regulations may impair our research, development or production efforts or result in increased expense of compliance.

We are also subject to the food safety regulations of the jurisdictions where our facilities are located and our products are distributed, and failure to comply with such food safety regulations can result in substantial fines and penalties. Specifically, we are subject to the FSMA, which enhances the FDA’s ability to regulate the growing, harvesting, manufacturing, processing, labeling, packaging, distributing and marketing of food in the United States. The FDA has been active in implementing the requirements of the FSMA by issuing regulations to reduce the risk of contamination in food manufacturing. These regulations affect our daily operations, particularly those of our newly acquired Creston and Seymour facilities, and in order to remain in compliance we these regulations we may be required to modify our operations, purchase new equipment or make capital improvements. Any such modifications, improvements, fines or penalties could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Litigation or legal proceedings could expose us to significant liabilities and have a negative impact on our reputation or business.

From time to time, we may be party to various claims and litigation proceedings. We evaluate these claims and litigation proceedings to assess the likelihood of unfavorable outcomes and to estimate, if possible, the amount of potential losses. Based on these assessments and estimates, we may establish reserves, as appropriate. These assessments and estimates are based on the information available to management at the time and involve a significant amount of management judgment. Actual outcomes or losses may differ materially from our assessments and estimates. We are not currently party to any material litigation. Even when not merited, the defense of these lawsuits may divert management’s attention, and we may incur significant expenses in defending these lawsuits. The results of litigation and other legal proceedings are inherently uncertain, and adverse judgments or settlements in some of these legal disputes may result in adverse monetary damages, penalties or injunctive relief against us, which could negatively impact our financial position, cash flows or results of operations. Any claims or litigation, even if fully indemnified or insured, could damage our reputation and make it more difficult to compete effectively or to obtain adequate insurance in the future.

Furthermore, while we maintain insurance for certain potential liabilities, such insurance does not cover all types and amounts of potential liabilities and is subject to various exclusions as well as caps on amounts recoverable. Even if we believe a claim is covered by insurance, insurers may dispute our entitlement to recovery for a variety of potential reasons, which may affect the timing and, if the insurers prevail, the amount of our recovery.

Our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes may be limited in connection with the merger or other ownership changes.

We have incurred losses during our history and do not expect to become profitable in the near future and may never achieve profitability. To the extent that we continue to generate taxable losses, unused losses will carry forward to offset future taxable income, if any, until such unused losses expire, if at all. As of December 31, 2021, we had U.S. federal net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $229.7 million.

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Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”), as modified by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), U.S. federal net operating loss carryforwards generated in taxable periods beginning after December 31, 2017, may be carried forward indefinitely, but the deductibility of such net operating loss carryforwards in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2020, is limited to 80% of taxable income. It is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to the Tax Act or the CARES Act.

In addition, our net operating loss carryforwards are subject to review and possible adjustment by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, and state tax authorities. Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), our federal net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes may become subject to an annual limitation in the event of certain cumulative changes in our ownership. An “ownership change” pursuant to Section 382 of the Code generally occurs if one or more stockholders or groups of stockholders who own at least 5% of a company’s stock increase their ownership by more than 50 percentage points over their lowest ownership percentage within a rolling three-year period. Our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes to offset future taxable income or tax liabilities may be limited as a result of ownership changes, including potential changes in connection with the business combination or other transactions. Similar rules may apply under state tax laws. If we earn taxable income, such limitations could result in increased future income tax liability to us and our future cash flows could be adversely affected. We have recorded a valuation allowance related to our net operating loss carryforwards and other deferred tax assets due to the uncertainty of the ultimate realization of the future benefits of those assets.

Risks Relating to Intellectual Property

Patents and patent applications involve highly complex legal and factual questions, which, if determined adversely to us, could negatively impact our competitive position.

The patent positions of biotechnology companies and other actors in our fields of business can be highly uncertain and involve complex scientific, legal and factual analyses. The interpretation and breadth of claims allowed in some patents covering biological compositions may be uncertain and difficult to determine and are often affected materially by the facts and circumstances that pertain to the patented compositions and the related patent claims. The issuance and scope of patents cannot be predicted with certainty. Patents, if issued, may be challenged, invalidated, narrowed or circumvented. Challenges to our or our licensors’ patents and patent applications, if successful, may result in the denial of our or our licensors’ patent applications or the loss or reduction in their scope. In addition, defending against such challenges may be costly and involve the diversion of significant management time. Accordingly, rights under any of our patents may not provide us with enough protection against competitive products or processes and any loss, denial or reduction in scope of any of such patents and patent applications may have a material adverse effect on our business.

Even if not challenged, our patents and patent applications may not adequately protect our product candidates or technology or prevent others from designing their products or technology to avoid being covered by our patent claims. If the breadth or strength of protection provided by the patents we own or license is threatened, it could dissuade companies from partnering with us to develop, and could threaten our ability to successfully commercialize, our product candidates.

If we fail to obtain and maintain patent protection and trade secret protection of our product candidates and technology, we could lose our competitive advantage and competition we face would increase, reducing any potential revenues and have a material adverse effect on our business.

We will not seek to protect our intellectual property rights in all jurisdictions throughout the world and we may not be able to adequately enforce our intellectual property rights even in the jurisdictions where we seek protection.

Filing, prosecuting and defending patents in all countries and jurisdictions throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive. Patent prosecution must be sought on a country-by-country basis, which is an expensive and time-consuming process with uncertain outcomes. Our intellectual property rights in some countries outside the United States could be less extensive than those in the United States, assuming that rights are obtained in the United States. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as federal and state laws in the United States. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the United States, or from selling or importing products made using our inventions in and into the United States or other jurisdictions.

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Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we or our licensors do not pursue and obtain patent protection. Further, competition may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we or our licensors have patent protection, but where the ability to enforce those patent rights is not as strong as in the United States. These products may compete with our products and our intellectual property rights and such rights may not be effective or enough to prevent such competition.

In addition, changes in, or different interpretations of, patent laws in the United States and other countries may permit others to use our discoveries or to develop and commercialize our technology and products without providing any notice or compensation to us or may limit the scope of patent protection that we or our licensors are able to obtain. The laws of some countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as United States laws and those countries may lack adequate rules and procedures for defending our intellectual property rights.

Furthermore, proceedings to enforce our patent rights and other intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly, could put our or our licensors’ patent applications at risk of not issuing and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate, and the damages or other remedies awarded to us, if any, may not be commercially meaningful, while the damages and other remedies we may be ordered to pay such third parties may be significant. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license.

Third parties may assert rights to inventions we develop or otherwise regard as our own.

Third parties may in the future make claims challenging the inventorship or ownership of our or our licensors’ intellectual property. We may face claims by third parties that our agreements with employees, contractors, or consultants obligating them to assign intellectual property to us are ineffective or are in conflict with prior or competing contractual obligations of assignment. Litigation may be necessary to resolve an ownership dispute, and if we are not successful, we may be precluded from using certain intellectual property and associated products and technology or may lose our rights in that intellectual property.

We may be unsuccessful in developing, licensing or acquiring intellectual property that may be required to develop and commercialize our product candidates.

Our programs may involve additional product candidates that may require the use of intellectual property or proprietary rights held by third parties; the growth of our business may depend in part on our ability to acquire, in-license or use these intellectual property and proprietary rights.

However, we may be unable to acquire or in-license any third-party intellectual property or proprietary rights that may be key to development. Even if we can acquire or in-license such rights, we may be unable to do so on commercially reasonable terms. The licensing and acquisition of third-party intellectual property and proprietary rights is a competitive area, and several more established companies are also pursuing strategies to license or acquire third-party intellectual property and proprietary rights that we may consider attractive or necessary. These established companies may have a competitive advantage over us due to their size, capital resources and agricultural development and commercialization capabilities.

In addition, companies that perceive us to be a competitor may be unwilling to assign or license intellectual property and proprietary rights to us. We also may be unable to license or acquire third-party intellectual property and proprietary rights on terms that would allow us to make an appropriate return on our investment or at all. If we are unable to successfully acquire or in-license rights to required third-party intellectual property and proprietary rights or maintain the existing intellectual property and proprietary rights we have, we may have to cease development of the relevant program, product or product candidate, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

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Risks Relating to Outstanding Warrants

The Company’s outstanding warrants are exercisable for common stock, which would increase the number of shares eligible for future resale in the public market and result in dilution to stockholders.

As further discussed in Note 3 to the audited consolidated financial statements under the heading “Merger With Star Peak Corp II,” the outstanding Private Placement Warrants and Public Warrants to purchase an aggregate of 16.6 million shares of common stock are exercisable 12 months from the consummation of STPC’s initial public offering (i.e., January 8, 2022). Each such warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of common stock at a price of $11.50 per whole share, subject to adjustment. These warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares of common stock. In addition, in connection with the issuance of certain notes payable, the Company issued additional private warrants (see Note 14 to the audited consolidated financial statements under the headings “Notes Payable Warrants” and “Convertible Notes Payable Warrants”). In addition, we have issued the March 2022 Warrants (see Note 23 to the audited consolidated financial statements). To the extent any of such warrants are exercised, additional shares of common stock will be issued, which will result in dilution to the then existing holders of common stock and increase the number of shares eligible for resale in the public market. Sales of substantial numbers of such shares in the public market could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

We may amend the terms of the Public Warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of Public Warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then-outstanding Public Warrants. As a result, the exercise price of the Public Warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of common stock purchasable upon exercise of a Public Warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.

The Private Placement Warrants and the Public Warrants were issued in registered form under a warrant agreement (the “Warrant Agreement”) between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent. The Warrant Agreement provides that the terms of the Private Placement Warrants and the Public Warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then-outstanding Public Warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of the Public Warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the Public Warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 65% of the then-outstanding Public Warrants approve of such amendment.

Although our ability to amend the terms of the Public Warrants with the consent of at least 65% of the then-outstanding Public Warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the Public Warrants, convert the Public Warrants into cash or stock, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of common stock purchasable upon exercise of a Public Warrant.

We may redeem unexpired Public Warrants or March 2022 Warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making such warrants worthless.

We have the ability to redeem outstanding Public Warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the last reported sales price of common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any twenty (20) trading days within a thirty (30) trading-day period commencing once the Public Warrants become exercisable and ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we give proper notice of such redemption and provided certain other conditions are met. We have the ability to redeem any outstanding March 2022 Warrant at any time prior to its expiration, at a price of (x) $0.10 times (y) the Applicable Number of such March 2022 Warrant, provided that the last reported sales price of Common Stock exceeds $9.75 per share (subject to adjustment for forward and reverse stock splits and the like) for any twenty (20) trading days within a thirty (30) trading-day period, provided certain other conditions are met.

If and when the Public Warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the Public Warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such shares of common stock under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the Public Warrants were offered. Redemption of the outstanding Public Warrants could force warrantholders (i) to exercise their Public Warrants and pay the exercise price therefore at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so, (ii) to sell their Public Warrants at the then-current market price when a

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warrantholder might otherwise wish to hold its Public Warrants or (iii) to accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding Public Warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of the Public Warrants. The Public Warrants are currently listed on the NYSE under the symbol “BHIL WS.”

Holders of our warrants will have no rights as a common stockholder until such holders exercise their warrants and acquire our common stock.

Until a warrant holder acquires shares of common stock upon exercise of their warrants, they will have no rights with respect to the shares of our common stock underlying such warrants. Upon exercise of their warrants, they will be entitled to exercise the rights of a common stockholder only as to matters for which the record date occurs after the exercise date.

Risks Relating to our Financings

We are subject to numerous affirmative and negative covenants with respect to certain debt financings. The covenants may impede our ability to execute our business plan and, if breached, may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Risks Relating to Avenue Capital Loan

On December 29, 2021 we and certain of our subsidiaries (collectively, the “Borrowers”), entered into a Loan and Security Agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) with Avenue Capital Management II, L.P. (the “Agent”), as administrative agent and collateral agent for several funds managed by the Agent (the “Lenders”), pursuant to which the Lenders loaned to the Borrowers the aggregate sum of $80 million and committed to loan to the Borrowers an additional aggregate sum of $20 million between April 30, 2022 and June 30, 2022, if we achieve certain milestones (the “Avenue Capital Loan”).

The Avenue Capital Loan is secured by a security interest granted by the Borrowers to the Lenders in collateral consisting of all of each Borrower’s right, title and interest in all receivables, equipment, fixtures, general intangibles, inventory, investment property, deposit accounts, shares, goods, records, and other personal property of the Borrowers, and any proceeds of each of the foregoing, subject to certain specified limitations.

The Loan Agreement and other documentation entered into by the Borrowers in connection with the Avenue Capital Loan contain numerous affirmative and negative covenants on the part of the Borrowers in favor of the Agent and the Lenders. If we breach these covenants, the Agent may declare all amounts immediately due and payable and exercise its rights with respect to the security for those loans.

Among the affirmative covenants are a covenant on the part of the Borrowers to maintain at all times a “remaining months liquidity” of at least six months. Among the negative covenants are covenants requiring the Borrowers to obtain the Agent’s and/or the Lenders’ consent, subject to certain specified exceptions, prior to undertaking certain actions, including to: enter into a new business line; liquidate or dissolve, enter into any change of control transaction, or acquire another entity; sell, transfer, lease or license any assets other than in the ordinary course of business; make any loans, guarantees, advances or investments; prepay any indebtedness; repay any subordinated indebtedness; pay or declare dividends; take on any new indebtedness; create or incur any new liens; enter into any new personal property lease with an aggregate value of more than $1.5 million annually; make material changes to our insurance policies; or give material discounts, credits or rebates on an existing right to receive payment. These covenants may impede the Company in its ability to execute its business plan in the most efficient and effective manner.

If the Avenue Capital Loan covenants are breached, we plan to attempt to secure a waiver of those covenants or an amendment that modifies the covenants, but there are no assurances that we will be able to comply with our future covenants without such a waiver or amendment, or that we will be successful in obtaining a waiver or an amendment.

Our stockholders may experience dilution as a result of the Avenue Capital Loan

At any time after six months from the initial closing of the Avenue Capital Loan and before the 42-month anniversary of the initial closing of the Avenue Capital Loan, up to $20 million of the principal amount of the Loan then outstanding may be converted

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(at a Lender’s option) into shares of our common stock (the “Conversion Option”), as further discussed in Note 13 to the audited consolidated financial statements under the heading “Convertible Notes Payable.”

As additional consideration for the Avenue Capital Loan, the Lenders received warrants (the “Convertible Notes Payable Warrants”) exercisable or exchangeable (at a Lender’s option) for shares of our common stock, as further discussed in Note 14 to the audited consolidated financial statements under the heading “Convertible Notes Payable Warrants.”

The exercise of the Conversion Option and/or the exercise of the Convertible Notes Payable Warrants could result in dilution for our existing stockholders.

Risks Relating to First National Bank of Omaha Loan

The operations of our wholly-owned subsidiary, Dakota Dry Bean Inc. (“DDB”), have been funded in part through a term loan from First National Bank of Omaha (“FNBO”) and a revolving line of credit provided by FNBO. These debt financings require DDB to comply with financial covenants, for which DDB will likely require financial support from us to remain in compliance. These same debt financings also require us to maintain a minimum cash balance. If we breach any of these covenants, FNBO may declare all amounts immediately due and payable and exercise its rights with respect to the security for those debt financings.

If the FNBO covenants are breached, we plan to attempt to secure a waiver of those covenants or an amendment that modifies the covenants, but there are no assurances that we will be able to comply with our future covenants without such a waiver or amendment, or that we will be successful in obtaining a waiver or an amendment.

Additional Risks Relating to Ownership of Our Securities

The future exercise of registration rights may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Certain of our stockholders have registration rights for restricted securities. Upon consummation of the Merger, the Company, the Sponsor, and certain other holders of our common stock (collectively, the “IRA Parties”) entered into that certain Investor Rights Agreement (the “IRA”), which provides for customary “demand” and “piggyback” registration rights, including an agreement to file a resale registration statement for the benefit of either or both of the Existing Investors (as defined in the IRA) or the New Investors (as defined in the IRA) when certain conditions are met. Sales of a substantial number of shares of common stock pursuant to any such resale registration statement in the public market could occur at any time such resale registration statement remains effective. In addition, certain registration rights holders can require underwritten offerings to sell their securities. These sales, or the perception in the market that holders of a large number of shares intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of our common stock.

We qualify as an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies, it could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance to the performance of other public companies.

We qualify as an “emerging growth company” as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Securities Act. As such, we are eligible for and intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies for as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, including, but not limited to, (a) not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (b) reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and (c) exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of (a) December 31, 2026, (b) the last date of our fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, (c) the last date of our fiscal year in which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer,” which means the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th subject to compliance with periodic reporting requirements for a period of at least 12 months or (d) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the previous three years. Investors may find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.

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Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

The NYSE may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.

In order to continue listing our securities on the NYSE, we will be required to maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. Generally, we will be required to maintain a minimum market capitalization (generally $50,000,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders).

If the NYSE delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:

Almost all of the Company’s outstanding warrants are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of the warrants could have a material effect on our financial results.

On April 12, 2021, the Acting Director of the Division of Corporation Finance and Acting Chief Accountant of the SEC together issued a statement regarding the accounting and reporting considerations for warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (‘SPACs’)” (the “SEC Statement”). Specifically, the SEC Statement focused on certain settlement terms and provisions related to certain tender offers following a business combination, which terms are similar to those contained in the Warrant Agreement.

As a result of the SEC Statement, we reevaluated the accounting treatment of our warrants outstanding at the time, and determined to classify the warrants as derivative liabilities measured at fair value, with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings. In addition, most of our additional warrants issued since have similarly been classified as derivative liabilities. Accounting Standards Codification 815, Derivatives and Hedging, provides for the remeasurement of the fair value of such derivatives at each balance sheet date, with a resulting non-cash gain or loss related to the change in the fair value being recognized in earnings in the statement of operations. Our consolidated financial statements and results of operations may fluctuate quarterly, as a result of the recurring fair value measurement of our outstanding warrants, based on factors which are outside of our control. Due to the recurring fair value measurement, we may recognize non-cash gains or losses on our outstanding warrants each reporting period and that the amount of such gains or losses could be material. The impact of changes in fair value on earnings may have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities.

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Because there are no current plans to pay cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future, you may not receive any return on investment unless you sell your common stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.

We intend to retain future earnings, if any, for future operations, expansion and debt repayment and there are no current plans to pay any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. The declaration, amount and payment of any future dividends on shares of our common stock will be at the sole discretion of our board of directors. Our board of directors may take into account general and economic conditions, our financial condition and results of operations, our available cash and current and anticipated cash needs, capital requirements, contractual, legal, tax, and regulatory restrictions, implications on the payment of dividends by us to our stockholders or by our subsidiaries to us and such other factors as our board of directors may deem relevant. In addition, our ability to pay dividends is limited by covenants of our existing and outstanding indebtedness and may be limited by covenants of any future indebtedness we incur. As a result, you may not receive any return on an investment in our common stock unless you sell our common stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.

If securities analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or if they downgrade our common stock or our sector, our common stock price and its trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock will rely in part on the research and reports that industry or financial analysts publish about us or our business. We will not control these analysts. In addition, some financial analysts may have limited expertise with our model and operations. Furthermore, if one or more of the analysts who do cover our business downgrade our common stock or industry, or the stock of any of our competitors, or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the price of our common stock could decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of us or fails to publish reports on it regularly, we could lose visibility in the market, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.

Future sales, or the perception of future sales, by us or our stockholders in the public market following the merger could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

The sale of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could harm the prevailing market price of shares of our common stock. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate.

In connection with the Merger, certain substantial holders of our common stock have agreed, subject to certain exceptions, (i) not to transfer or dispose of their shares of our common stock until (x) the earlier of six months after the consummation of the Merger and (y) the date after the closing on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their equity holdings in us for cash, securities or other property, and (ii) not engage, directly or indirectly, in any short sales or other hedging or derivative transactions involving our common stock or Warrants beginning on the date that the merger agreement is executed and ended six months after the consummation of the Merger. In addition, Star Peak Sponsor II LLC (the “Sponsor”) and certain of its transferees have agreed, subject to certain exceptions, not to transfer or dispose of their shares of our common stock during the period from the date of the closing of the Merger through the earlier of (i) the first anniversary of the consummation of Merger, (ii) the date that the closing price of our common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like), for 20 trading days within any 30 trading day period following the 150th day following the Merger and (iii) the consummation of a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of our common stock for cash, securities or other property.

Upon the expiration or waiver of the lock-ups described above, shares of our common stock held by certain other of our stockholders will be eligible for resale, subject to volume, manner of sale and other limitations under Rule 144 under the Securities Act (“Rule 144”), when such rule becomes applicable to us. In addition, pursuant to the IRA, the IRA Parties will have the right, subject to certain conditions, to require us to register the sale of their shares of our common stock under the Securities Act. By exercising their registration rights and selling a large number of shares, these stockholders could cause the prevailing market price of our common stock to decline.

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As restrictions on resale end or if these stockholders exercise their registration rights, the market price of shares of our common stock could drop significantly if the holders of these shares sell them or are perceived by the market as intending to sell them. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to raise additional funds through future offerings of shares of our common stock or other securities.

In addition, the shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance under our equity incentive plans will become eligible for sale in the public market once those shares are issued, subject to provisions relating to various vesting agreements, lock-up agreements and, in some cases, limitations on volume and manner of sale applicable to affiliates under Rule 144, as applicable.

In the future, we may also issue our securities in connection with investments or acquisitions. The amount of shares of our common stock issued in connection with an investment or acquisition could constitute a material portion of our then-outstanding shares of common stock. Any issuance of additional securities in connection with investments or acquisitions may result in additional dilution to our stockholders.

Anti-takeover provisions in our organizational documents could delay or prevent a change of control.

Certain provisions of our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation and second amended and restated bylaws have an anti-takeover effect and may delay, defer or prevent a merger, acquisition, tender offer, takeover attempt or other change of control transaction that a stockholder might consider in its best interest, including those attempts that might result in premium over the market price for the shares held by our stockholders.

These provisions, among other things:

As a Delaware corporation, we are subject to the anti-takeover provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”), which prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination specified in the statute with an interested stockholder (as defined in the statute) for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person first becomes an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in advance by a majority of the independent directors or by the holders of at least two-thirds of the outstanding disinterested shares. The application of Section 203 of the DGCL could also have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of our company.

These anti-takeover provisions could make it more difficult for a third-party to acquire us, even if the third-party’s offer may be considered beneficial by many of our stockholders. As a result, our stockholders may be limited in their ability to obtain a premium

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for their shares. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and other stockholders to elect directors of your choosing and to cause us to take other corporate actions you desire.

Our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or stockholders.

Our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the sole and exclusive forum, to the fullest extent permitted by law, for (1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (2) any action asserting a breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee to us or our stockholders, (3) any action asserting a claim against us or any director, officer, or other employee arising pursuant to the DGCL, (4) any action to interpret, apply, enforce, or determine the validity of our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation or second amended and restated bylaws, or (5) any other action asserting a claim that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine, shall be the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or another state court or the federal court located within the State of Delaware if the Court of Chancery does not have or declines to accept jurisdiction), in all cases subject to the court’s having jurisdiction over indispensable parties named as defendants. In addition, our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the federal district court for the District of Delaware (or, in the event such court does not have jurisdiction, the federal district courts of the United States) will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act but that the forum selection provision will not apply to claims brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act. Although we believe these provisions benefit us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law for the specified types of actions and proceedings, the provisions may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against us or our directors and officers. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, financial condition, and operating results. For example, under the Securities Act, federal courts have concurrent jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act, and investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in our shares of capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to this exclusive forum provision, but will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.

Certain of our stockholders, including the Sponsor, may engage in business activities which compete with us or otherwise conflict with our interests.

Certain of our stockholders are in the business of making investments in companies and may from time to time acquire and hold interests in businesses that compete directly or indirectly with us. Our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that none of the Sponsor, any of their respective affiliates or any director who is not employed by us (including any non-employee director who serves as one of our officers in both his or her director and officer capacities) or his or her affiliates will have any duty to refrain from engaging, directly or indirectly, in the same business activities or similar business activities or lines of business in which we operate. Our stockholders may also pursue acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business and, as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to us.

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UNAUDITED PRO FORMA COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Introduction

Merger with Star Peak Corp II

On September 29, 2021 (the “Closing Date”), Star Peak Corp II (“STPC”), a special purpose acquisition company, consummated a merger (the “Closing”) pursuant to that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated May 8, 2021 (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among STPC, STPC Merger Sub Corp., a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of STPC (“Merger Sub”), and Benson Hill, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Legacy Benson Hill”).

Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, a business combination between STPC and Legacy Benson Hill was effected through the merger of Merger Sub with and into Legacy Benson Hill, with Legacy Benson Hill surviving the transaction as a wholly-owned subsidiary of STPC (the “Merger”). On the Closing Date, STPC changed its name to Benson Hill, Inc (“New Benson Hill”) and Legacy Benson Hill changed its name to Benson Hill Holdings, Inc.

The Merger was accounted for as a reverse recapitalization (the “Reverse Recapitalization”) in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP” or “GAAP”). Under this method of accounting, STPC is treated as the “acquired” company and Legacy Benson Hill is treated as the acquirer for financial reporting purposes. The Reverse Recapitalization was treated as the equivalent of Legacy Benson Hill issuing stock for the net assets of STPC, accompanied by a recapitalization. This accounting treatment determination was primarily based on the following:

Acquisition of ZFS Creston

On December 30, 2021, Benson Hill, Inc. (“Benson Hill” or the “Company”) and its wholly owned subsidiary, DDB Holdings, Inc. (“DDB Holdings”), entered into a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with ZFS Creston, LLC (“ZFS Creston”), the sellers party to the Purchase Agreement (the “Sellers”), and ZFS Solutions, LLC, as representative of the Sellers. Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, and concurrently with the execution thereof, the Company acquired all of the outstanding membership interests in ZFS Creston from the Sellers for aggregate cash consideration of approximately $102 million, subject to the adjustments set forth in the Purchase Agreement for cash, debt and working capital (the “Acquisition”).

On December 29, 2021, in connection with the acquisition of ZFS Creston described above, the Company and its directly or indirectly wholly-owned subsidiaries Benson Hill Holdings, Inc., BHB Holdings, LLC, DDB Holdings, Inc., Dakota Dry Bean Inc., Benson Hill Seeds Holding, Inc., Benson Hill Seeds, Inc., Benson Hill Fresh Holdings, LLC, Benson Hill Fresh, LLC, J&J Produce, Inc., J&J Southern Farms, Inc., and Trophy Transport, LLC (the Company and such subsidiaries are each individually referred to as a “Borrower” and are all collectively referred to as the “Borrowers”), entered into a Loan and Security Agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) with Avenue Capital Management II, L.P. (the “Agent”), as administrative agent and collateral agent for several funds managed by the Agent (each such fund is individually referred to as a “Lender” and all such funds are collectively referred to as the “Lenders”), wherein on such date the Lenders loaned to the Borrowers the aggregate sum of $80 million and committed to loan to the Borrowers an additional aggregate sum of $20 million between April 30, 2022 and June 30, 2022 upon the Company’s achievement of certain milestones (the “Loan”).

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PIPE Investment

On March 24, 2022, Benson Hill entered into definitive subscription agreements (“Subscription Agreements”) with the Selling Securityholders providing for the private placement to the Selling Securityholders of an aggregate of 26,150 units (collectively, the “Units”) at a price of $3.25 per Unit. Each Unit consisted of (i) one share of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Common Stock”), and (ii) the March 2022 Warrants for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $85.0 million. The aggregate amount of Common Stock underlying the March 2022 Warrants is 8,717 shares. The closing of the private placement occurred on March 25, 2022 (the “Closing”). Each March 2022 Warrant has an exercise price equal to (x) $3.90 times (y) the Applicable Number of such March 2022 Warrant, is immediately exercisable, and expires five years from the date of issuance, and is subject to customary adjustments. The March 2022 Warrants may not be exercised if the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by the holder thereof would exceed a specified threshold set forth therein, subject to increase to up to 19.99% (or, in the case of certain Investors, a lower specified maximum threshold requested by such Investors). Each March 2022 Warrant is redeemable by the Company for an amount equal to (x) $0.10 times (y) the Applicable Number of such March 2022 Warrant upon the Common Stock trading greater than $9.75 per share for 20 of 30 consecutive trading days. The PIPE investment closed on March 25, 2022 and the Company incurred issuance costs of $3.9 million.

Unaudited Pro Forma Combined Financial Information

The unaudited pro forma combined balance sheet as of December 31, 2021 gives pro forma effect to the closing of the PIPE investment as if it had occurred on that date. The unaudited pro forma combined balance sheet as of December 31, 2021 does not include pro forma adjustments for the Merger or the Acquisition and related Loan as these transactions are already reflected in the Company’s historical audited balance sheet as of December 31, 2021. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 combines the historical audited consolidated statement of operations of Benson Hill for the year ended December 31, 2021, the historical unaudited condensed consolidated statement of operations of STPC for the period of January 1, 2021 through September 28, 2021, the day before the closing of the Merger, and the historical audited statement of operations of ZFS Creston for the year ended October 31, 2021, giving pro forma effect to the Merger, the Acquisition and related Loan, and the closing of the PIPE investment as if each had occurred as of January 1, 2021, the first day of the fiscal year. The historical consolidated financial information has been adjusted in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements to give effect to pro forma events that are (i) directly attributable to the Merger, the Acquisition and related Loan, and the PIPE investment, (ii) factually supportable, and (iii) with respect to the statement of operations, expected to have a continuing impact on the combined company’s results. The unaudited pro forma combined balance sheet and statement of operations should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes to the unaudited pro forma combined balance sheet and statement of operations. In addition, the unaudited pro forma combined balance sheet and statement of operations was derived from, and should be read in conjunction with, the following historical financial statements and accompanying notes, the section entitled “Benson Hill’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the prospectus, and other financial information included elsewhere in the Annual Report on Form 10-K, the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and the prospectus:

The following unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information has been prepared in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation S-X and is presented to illustrate the estimated effects of the Merger, the Acquisition and related Loan, and the PIPE investment based on the historical financial statements and accounting records of Benson Hill, STPC, and ZFS Creston after giving effect to the Merger, the Acquisition and related Loan, the PIPE investment, and related pro forma adjustments as described in the notes included below.

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The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information has been prepared by Benson Hill using the acquisition method of accounting in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. The assets acquired and liabilities assumed by Benson Hill in the Acquisition have been measured at their respective estimated fair values. Differences between these estimates of fair value and the final acquisition accounting will occur, and those differences could have a material impact on the accompanying unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements and the combined company’s future results of operations and financial position. The pro forma adjustments are preliminary and have been made solely for the purpose of providing unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

Benson Hill will finalize the acquisition accounting (including the necessary valuation and other studies) as soon as practicable within the required measurement period, but in no event later than one year following completion of the Acquisition. The Company expressly disclaims any duty to update the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information, except as otherwise required by law.

The unaudited pro forma combined financial information has been presented for informational purposes only. The unaudited pro forma combined financial information does not purport to represent the actual results of operations that Benson Hill, STPC, and ZFS Creston would have achieved had the companies been combined during the periods presented in the unaudited pro forma combined financial statements and is not intended to project the future results of operations that the combined company may achieve after the Merger and the Acquisition. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information does not reflect any potential cost savings that may be realized as a result of the Acquisition and also does not reflect any integration-related costs. Material intercompany transactions between Benson Hill and ZFS Creston during the periods presented in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements have been eliminated (see Note 5. Income Statement Pro Forma Adjustments and Note 6. Balance Sheet Pro Forma Adjustments).

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See the accompanying notes to the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements, which are an integral part of these statements. The pro forma adjustments shown above are explained in Note 5. Income Statement Pro Forma Adjustments.

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See the accompanying notes to the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements, which are an integral part of these statements. The pro forma adjustments shown above are explained in Note 6. Balance Sheet Pro Forma Adjustments.

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Notes to the Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Financial Statements

(In Thousands, Except Per Unit and Per Share Information)

1. Description of Transaction

Merger with Star Peak Corp II

On September 29, 2021 (the “Closing Date”), Star Peak Corp II (“STPC”), a special purpose acquisition company, consummated a merger (the “Closing”) pursuant to that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated May 8, 2021 (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among STPC, STPC Merger Sub Corp., a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of STPC (“Merger Sub”), and Benson Hill, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Legacy Benson Hill”).

Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, a business combination between STPC and Legacy Benson Hill was effected through the merger of Merger Sub with and into Legacy Benson Hill, with Legacy Benson Hill surviving the transaction as a wholly-owned subsidiary of STPC (the “Merger”). On the Closing Date, STPC changed its name to Benson Hill, Inc (“New Benson Hill”) and Legacy Benson Hill changed its name to Benson Hill Holdings, Inc.

Acquisition of ZFS Creston

On December 30, 2021, Benson Hill, Inc. (“Benson Hill” or the “Company”) and its wholly owned subsidiary DDB Holdings, Inc. (“DDB Holdings”) entered into a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with ZFS Creston, LLC (“ZFS Creston”), the sellers party to the Purchase Agreement (the “Sellers”), and ZFS Solutions, LLC, as representative of the Sellers. Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, and concurrently with the execution thereof, Benson Hill acquired all of the outstanding membership interests in ZFS Creston from the Sellers for aggregate cash consideration of approximately $102 million, subject to the adjustments set forth in the Purchase Agreement for cash, debt and working capital.

On December 29, 2021, in connection with the acquisition of ZFS Creston described above, the Company and certain of its directly or indirectly wholly-owned subsidiaries (the Company and such subsidiaries are each individually referred to as a “Borrower” and are all collectively referred to as the “Borrowers”), entered into a Loan and Security Agreement wherein on such date the lenders party thereto (the “Lenders”) loaned to the Borrowers the aggregate sum of $80 million and committed to loan to the Borrowers an additional aggregate sum of $20 million between April 30, 2022 and June 30, 2022 upon the Company’s achievement of certain milestones (the “Loan”).

Upon maturity or other satisfaction of the Loan, a “Final Payment” (in addition to other payments of principal and interest) equal to $10.7 million is payable by the Borrowers to the Lenders, but in the event all or any part of any Loan is outstanding when a “Change of Control” as defined in the Loan Agreement occurs the required “Final Payment” is $14.2 million. In the event the Loan is prepaid, a “Prepayment Fee” is due, ranging from 1% to 6% of the principal amount of the Loan, based upon the time from the initial closing to the prepayment date.

At any time after 6-months from initial loan closing and before the 42-month anniversary of the initial loan closing, up to $20.0 million of the principal amount of the Loan then outstanding may be converted (at a Lender’s option) into shares of the Company’s Common Stock (the “Conversion Option”).

As additional consideration for the Loan, the Lenders received warrants exercisable or exchangeable for, at a Lender’s option, up to such aggregate number of shares of the Company’s Common Stock determined by dividing $3.0 million by the exercise price.

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PIPE Investment

On March 24, 2022, Benson Hill entered into definitive subscription agreements (“Subscription Agreements”) with the Selling Securityholders providing for the private placement to the Selling Securityholders of an aggregate of 26,150 units (collectively, the “Units”) at a price of $3.25 per Unit. Each Unit consisted of (i) one share of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Common Stock”), and (ii)  the March 2022 Warrants for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $85.0 million. The aggregate amount of Common Stock underlying the March 2022 Warrants is 8,717 shares. The closing of the private placement occurred on March 25, 2022 (the “Closing”). Each March 2022 Warrant has an exercise price equal to (x) $3.90 times (y) the Applicable Number of such March 2022 Warrant, is immediately exercisable, and expires five years from the date of issuance, and is subject to customary adjustments. The March 2022 Warrants may not be exercised if the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by the holder thereof would exceed a specified threshold set forth therein, subject to increase to up to 19.99% (or, in the case of certain Investors, a lower specified maximum threshold requested by such Investors). Each March 2022 Warrant is redeemable by the Company for an amount equal to (x) $0.10 times (y) the Applicable Number of such March 2022 Warrant upon the Common Stock trading greater than $9.75 per share for 20 of 30 consecutive trading days. The PIPE investment closed on March 25, 2022 and the Company incurred issuance costs of $3.9 million.

2. Basis of Presentation

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information was prepared using the acquisition method of accounting for the Acquisition of ZFS Creston and is based on the historical consolidated financial statements of Benson Hill and ZFS Creston.

The acquisition method of accounting is based on Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 805, Business Combinations, and uses the fair value concepts defined in ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement.

ASC 805 requires, among other things, that most assets acquired and liabilities assumed be recognized at their fair values as of the acquisition date.

ASC 820 defines the term “fair value,” and sets forth the valuation requirements for any asset or liability measured at fair value, expands related disclosure requirements and specifies a hierarchy of valuation techniques based on the nature of the inputs used to develop the fair value measures. Fair value is defined in ASC 820 as “the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.”

This is an exit price concept for the valuation of the asset or liability. In addition, market participants are assumed to be buyers and sellers in the principal (or the most advantageous) market for the asset or liability. Fair value measurements for an asset assume the highest and best use by these market participants. Fair value measurements can be highly subjective, and it is possible that other professionals, applying reasonable judgment to the same facts and circumstances, could develop and support a range of alternative estimated amounts.

Under the acquisition method of accounting, the assets acquired and liabilities assumed are recorded, as of the completion of the Acquisition, primarily at their respective fair values.

Under ASC 805, acquisition-related transaction costs (e.g., advisory, legal and other professional fees) are not included as a component of consideration transferred but are accounted for as expenses in the periods in which such costs are incurred. Total acquisition-related transaction costs incurred by Benson Hill and ZFS Creston were $2,078. Acquisition-related transaction costs incurred in the year ended December 31, 2021 are reflected as a pro forma adjustment to the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations for the same period as a reduction in selling, general and administrative expenses because those net costs are not expected to have a continuing impact on the combined company’s results.

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet as of December 31, 2021 is required to include adjustments which give effect to events that are directly attributable to the PIPE investment regardless of whether they are expected to have a continuing impact on the company’s results or are non-recurring.

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The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information does not reflect any potential cost savings that may be realized as a result of the Acquisition. Additionally, the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information does not reflect any integration-related costs associated with the acquisition. The integration-related costs will be expensed in the appropriate accounting periods after completion of the Acquisition as incurred.

The Merger with STPC was accounted for as a reverse recapitalization (the “Reverse Recapitalization”) in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP” or “GAAP”). Under this method of accounting, STPC is treated as the “acquired” company and Legacy Benson Hill is treated as the acquirer for financial reporting purposes. The Reverse Recapitalization was treated as the equivalent of Legacy Benson Hill issuing stock for the net assets of STPC, accompanied by a recapitalization. This accounting treatment determination was primarily based on the following:

Certain ZFS Creston and STPC balances have been reclassified to conform to Benson Hill’s financial statement presentation.

3. Accounting Policies

With the exception of the following two accounting policies Benson Hill is not aware of any significant differences between the accounting policies of Benson Hill and ZFS Creston that would have a material impact on the combined company’s financial statements.

Therefore, the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements assume there are no other differences in accounting policies other than the two described above and in Note 5(b), respectively.

4. Estimate of Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed

The Company completed the acquisition of ZFS Creston for total merger consideration of approximately $102 million. The acquisition of ZFS Creston has been accounted for as a business combination, under the acquisition method of accounting, which results in acquired assets and assumed liabilities being measured at their estimated fair values as of the merger closing date. Goodwill is measured as the excess of consideration transferred over the fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed.

The allocation, which was primarily based on historical acquisitions and benchmark studies, has been used to prepare pro forma adjustments in the pro forma statements of operations. The final purchase price allocation will be determined when the Company has completed the detailed valuations and necessary calculations. The final allocation could differ materially from the preliminary allocation used in the pro forma adjustments and may result in changes in allocations to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed.

Details of the Acquisition and preliminary allocation of purchase price have been presented in Note 3 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021.

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5. Income Statement Pro Forma Adjustments

This note should be read in conjunction with Note 1. Description of Transaction; Note 2. Basis of Presentation; and Note 4. Estimate of Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed. Adjustments included in the column under the heading “Pro Forma Adjustments” represent the following:

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