Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc 10-K for FY2024
Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. (BAER)
10-K
2025-03-14
For: 2024-12-31
View Original
Added on
April 11, 2026
About this 10-K
Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc filed this 10-K on March 14, 2025, covering the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 (FY2024).
Headline figures
Fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, as reported in this filing, compared with the same period a year earlier where the filing states it.
- Revenue
- $98.61M
- up 47.8% from $66.71M a year earlier
- Net loss
- $15.57M
- compared with a net loss of $77.36M a year earlier
- Diluted EPS
- -$0.81
- compared with -$1.00 a year earlier
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
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FORM 10-K
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(Mark One)
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |||||
For the fiscal year ended December 31 , 2024
OR
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |||||
For the transition period from to
Commission file number: 001-41603
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(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | ||||
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) | ||||
(406 ) 813-0079
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbols | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||||||||||||
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
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Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. (See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||||||||||
☒ | Smaller reporting company | |||||||||||||
| Emerging growth company | ||||||||||||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
The aggregate market value of Common Stock held by non-affiliates on June 28, 2024, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was approximately $78.1 million.
As of March 10, 2025, there were 54,218,024 shares of Common Stock, $0.0001 par value, issued and outstanding.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement relating to the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, to be filed no later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year to which this Annual Report on Form 10-K relates, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K where indicated.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that include risks and uncertainties. Statements that are not current or historical facts, including statements about the beliefs and expectations of Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. (the “Company,” “Bridger,” “we” or “us”), are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “predict,” “poised,” “positioned,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” “target” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: (1) the anticipated expansion of Bridger’s operations and increased deployment of Bridger’s aircraft fleet, the anticipated benefits therefrom and the ultimate structure of such acquisitions and/or right to use arrangements; (2) Bridger’s business and growth plans and future financial performance; (3) current and future demand for aerial firefighting services, including the duration or severity of any domestic or international wildfire seasons; (4) the magnitude, timing and benefits from any cost reduction actions; (5) Bridger’s exploration of, need for, or completion of any future financings; (6) Bridger’s potential sources of liquidity and capital resources; (7) remediation plan for its material weaknesses in Bridger’s internal control over financial reporting; and (8) anticipated investments in additional aircraft, capital resources and research and development and the effect of these investments. These statements are based on various assumptions and estimates,that Bridger believes to be reasonable when made, but may not prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those factors discussed in “Item 1. Business,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” “Item 3. Legal Proceedings,” “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Operations” and elsewhere in this report. Many of those factors are outside of Bridger’s control and could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements. Considering these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events described in the forward-looking statements might not occur or might occur to a different extent or at a different time than described herein. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Bridger’s expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Bridger anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause Bridger’s assessments to change. Except to the extent required by law, Bridger undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events, a change in events, conditions, circumstances or assumptions underlying such statements, or otherwise. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Bridger’s assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS.
Business Overview
Bridger provides aerial wildfire surveillance, relief and suppression and aerial firefighting services using next-generation technology and environmentally friendly and sustainable firefighting methods primarily throughout the United States, as well as airframe modification and integration solutions for governmental and commercial customers. Our mission is to save lives, property and habitats threatened by wildfires, leveraging our high-quality team, specialized aircraft and innovative use of technology and data. We are meeting an underserved and growing need for next-generation full-service aerial firefighting platforms.
Bridger was founded by our former Chief Executive Officer, former Navy SEAL officer and current United States Senator Timothy Sheehy, in Bozeman, Montana in 2014 with one aircraft and a vision to build a global enterprise to fight wildfires. Bridger has since grown into a full-spectrum aerial firefighting service provider in the U.S. and in the field of aerial wildfire management, offering technology and services to provide front-line firefighters and fire suppression decision-makers access to key fire data in order to effectively combat wildfires.
On January 24, 2023, Bridger completed a reverse recapitalization (the “Reverse Recapitalization”) with Jack Creek Investment Corp. (“JCIC”). As a result of the Reverse Recapitalization, Bridger and its subsidiaries prior to the consummation of the Reverse Recapitalization (“Legacy Bridger”) and JCIC each became wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company.
As of December 31, 2024, the Company has a team of 191 employees and has developed an ecosystem of solutions, services and technologies supporting firefighting ground crews and the public.
According to an article on Climate Change Indicators by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, multiple studies have found that “climate change has already led to an increase in wildfire season length, wildfire frequency and burned area,” “climate change threatens to increase the frequency, extent and severity of fires through increased temperatures and drought” and wildfires release a significant amount of carbon emissions each year.
The areas in which human development meets or intermingles with undeveloped wildland and vegetative fuels that are both fire-dependent and fire-prone (“wildland-urban interface” or “WUI”) have grown by more than 179,000 square kilometers in the U.S. from 1990 to 2020, according to a 2023 article by the United States Forest Service (the “USFS” and, such article, the “USFS WUI Increase Article”). WUI areas, which comprise 9.4% of the U.S. land area, now include nearly one-third of all residences, according to the USFS WUI Increase Article. At the same time, the average annual acres burned per fire between 1985 and 2023 have increased more than twofold according to data published by the National Interagency Fire Center (the “NIFC”). As the WUI areas continue to grow and wildfires grow larger, more aggressive firefighting strategies are necessary to ensure public safety.
These trends have led the U.S. federal government to increase spending on fire suppression, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.0%, since 1985 to $3.2 billion in 2023, according to the NIFC Suppression Costs Data. Even with this increased spending and demand, unfulfilled requests for fixed wing aircraft for aerial firefighting grew at a compound annual growth rate of 3.8% between 2002 and 2023, with 574 unfulfilled requests in 2023, according to National Interagency Coordination Center (“NICC”).
Amid raging wildfires and changing climate, we use sustainable and environmentally friendly firefighting methods. By sourcing water near the fire for our fire suppression services, we minimize harm to the local water system by keeping water in the local ecology and reducing flight time between scoops and drops.
Bridger’s management estimates that aerial suppression spend represented approximately 42.7% of an estimated $21.9 billion firefighting market (defined as the sum of air-based suppression, ground and fire data, aerial imagery-related and emergency mobile application markets) globally in 2021. There is a rapidly growing global need for fire suppression assets, and Bridger’s management believes that a shift away from ground services to air-based suppression has already commenced. The market is anticipated to continue to expand as wildfires rage across Europe and the U.S.
Business Description
Our portfolio is organized across three core offerings:
Fire Suppression: Consists of deploying specialized Viking CL-415EAF (“Super Scooper”) aircraft to drop large amounts of water quickly and directly on wildfires.
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Aerial Surveillance: Consists of providing aerial surveillance via manned (“Air Attack”) aircraft for fire suppression aircraft over an incident and providing tactical coordination with the incident commander.
Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (“MRO”): Consists of maintenance and repair services for return-to-service upgrades of certain Canadair CL-215T Amphibious (“Spanish Scoopers”) aircraft as well as airframe modification and integration solutions for governmental and commercial customers.
Fire Suppression
We provide direct fire suppression aerial firefighting support for ground crews by operating the Super Scoopers. Aerial fire suppression is provided in conjunction with traditional ground firefighting approaches, and specialized aircraft drop high volumes of water directly onto active wildfires. Because wildfires largely occur within close proximity to a major water source, leveraging readily available resources is more time- and fuel-efficient in combating wildfires when time is of the essence. The Super Scoopers allow for rapid delivery of water strikes to extinguish wildfires, particularly when deployed in tandem or larger groups to allow for continuous water delivery as aircraft return to the water source.
Aerial Surveillance
Wildfires can spread quickly and change course in an instant. Our aerial surveillance services provide decision-makers rapid, current intelligence from useful aerial vantage points, giving them access to key information to support more effective deployment of ground firefighters and improved safety for the public at large. Our aerial surveillance services leverage Air Attack aircraft.
We have eight years of experience in providing USFS Type 1 Air Tactical Group Supervisors (“ATGS”), and the aerial platform to relay the necessary information, to ground-based Interagency Incident Commanders (“Incident Commanders”), who are responsible for the overall management of the wildfire and determine how resources are deployed. We are one of the largest ATGS platform providers in the U.S. and have contracts covering 100% of the U.S.
MRO
We provide maintenance and repair services for return-to-service upgrades of the Spanish Scoopers as well as airframe modification and integration solutions for governmental and commercial customers.
Our Aircraft
We deploy modern technology to track and attack wildfires and have an expansive fleet of specialized firefighting aircraft stationed in three hangars at the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport in Belgrade, Montana. Our aircraft form the basis of our service offerings and, as such, we strive to continually invest in advancements in aerial firefighting platforms. We continually invest in our fleet to expand our capabilities while assessing opportunities to acquire next-generation firefighting assets to combat the rising threat of wildfires.
We currently operate an aircraft fleet of sixteen planes, comprised of the following:
•Six Super Scoopers;
•Three Twin Commanders;
•Four Daher Kodiak 100s (“Daher Kodiaks”); and
•Three Pilatus PC-12 (“Pilatus”) (one owned and two leased).
Super Scooper Fleet
The Super Scooper is the only aircraft designed and built to fight fires and can fly more aggressively in extreme terrains than all other aircraft with equal or greater water capacity. The Super Scooper is an amphibious aircraft that skims the surface of a body of water to scoop water into onboard tanks to drop on a fire. The specific design of the Super Scooper allows for an aggressive low-altitude flight profile, which enables pilots to deliver their drops with more precision, hitting the fire harder and extinguishing it faster. Super Scoopers can scoop up to 1,412 gallons of water in approximately 12 seconds, and with 90% of wildfires within 20 miles of a major water source (see graph below), Super Scoopers provide an extremely effective tool to economically and expeditiously deliver water to a fire without having to return to an airport to refill the water tanks. With a water source within a five-mile radius, the Super Scooper can drop on its target up to every seven minutes for a total of approximately 35 drops, or 50,000 gallons of water, before needing to refuel. As a result of our operations of these Super Scooper assets, in conjunction with our Air Attack fleet, we believe that we are one of the most full-spectrum aerial fire service providers in North America.
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Source: 2012 Air Attack Against Wildfire Study by the Rand Homeland Security and Defense Center.
The Super Scooper aircraft has an excellent safety record, direct support from the original equipment manufacturer (the “OEM”), short take-off and landing capabilities (“STOL”) and a multi-crew flight deck. The Super Scooper has a cruising speed of 207 miles per hour. Additionally, the Super Scooper is a highly efficient aircraft when fighting wildland fires and has the ability to drop a higher volume of liquid than retardant-dropping fixed-wing aircraft over the same amount of time due to its ability to gather water from nearby bodies of water.
We have never been assessed with any safety violations and/or citations, nor have any of our aircraft, including our Super Scooper aircraft, ever been involved in any crashes or serious injuries. We have also adopted a safety management system (“SMS”) designed to reduce the likelihood of safety-related issues arising in the course of our overall operations. The SMS program has been audited by both the Federal Aviation Administration (the “FAA”) and the USFS.
Furthermore, the Super Scooper has the ability to operate from smaller airports with runways as short as 2,500 feet in length while larger jet-powered aerial firefighting aircraft often need a runway of at least 4,000 feet in length. The Super Scooper is capable of scooping water in 12 seconds from bodies of water of 4,400 feet or more in length and can empty the water load in 3 seconds in one drop or split the drop into two. The Super Scooper’s water tank capacity is shown in the table below:
| Volume | Weight | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Liters | Imp Gal | U.S. Gal | Kg | Lbs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Each tank | 2,673 | 588 | 706 | 2,722 | 6,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total both tanks | 5,346 | 1,176 | 1,412 | 5,443 | 12,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A summary graphic of the Super Scooper and its efficiency in collecting water is provided below.
Source: United States Department of Agriculture Amphibious Water Scooper Aircraft Operations Plan 2016.
Air Attack Fleet
Our Air Attack fleet provides high level situational awareness of fire growth, ground firefighting elements, other aircraft within the fire traffic area and changing weather conditions to Incident Commanders. Each aircraft is outfitted with a broad suite of communication technologies. The Daher Kodiaks and Pilatus are known for their rugged build and versatility in landing on challenging terrain, which is an asset given the inconsistent and harsh flying conditions that challenge aerial firefighting. Our Air Attack fleet is suitable for STOL, allowing for deployment in a greater range of scenarios. A high level of reliability allows the aircraft to be serviced and available for contract for more days, with fewer unscheduled in-field maintenance events. Above active wildfires, the aircraft can maintain the fuel efficiency required to loiter for four to seven hours with slow and stable flight characteristics, offering the ATGS greater visibility.
Key Market Drivers and Opportunities
There are several key market drivers and opportunities for our business, including:
Longer and more severe fire seasons drive demand for fire suppression and aerial surveillance services
NIFC Suppression Costs Data supports that the acreage burned in the U.S. has increased over time. While there is variability in the acreage burned in any given year, the annual average of 7.2 million acres burned from 2004 to 2023 has almost doubled the annual average acreage burned from 1985 to 2003 of 3.7 million.
While the North American wildfire off-season has historically occurred between October and May, fires are starting earlier in the spring and lasting deeper into the fall according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”). The U.S. fire season is also lengthening on a consistent basis – according to Climate Central, the U.S. fire season is on average 105 days longer than it was in 1970. Climate Central also reported that the average number of large fires (greater than 1,000 acres) burning each year had tripled between the period of the 1970s to the 2010s, and the acres burned by such fires showed a six-fold increase in the 2010s compared to the 1970s. Climate Central attributes the lengthening wildfire season to factors including warmer springs, longer summer dry seasons and drier soils and vegetation, with climate change threatening to increase the extent and severity of these fires. The United States national fire preparedness level has increased over time. The five preparedness levels range from the lowest (1) to the highest (5); and are dictated by fuel and weather conditions, fire activity and fire suppression resource availability throughout the country. Level 5 represents that several geographic areas are experiencing large, complex wildfire incidents, which have the potential to exhaust national wildland firefighting resources, while Level 1 represents that there is very minimal fire activity. According to data provided by the NIFC, the average U.S. fire preparedness level during the main wildfire season (June through September) has increased over time by more than one level: during the past five years (2020 – 2024) the average U.S. fire preparedness level was 3.32, while the average U.S. fire preparedness level since 1990 was 2.80.
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Federal and state funding for wildfire control
National funding for wildfire management is appropriated by the U.S. Congress (“Congress”) and each state pays for wildland firefighting slightly differently. While fire suppression activities on wildlands in the U.S. are financed through federal funds, budget-making processes may restrict the amount allocated. According to the NIFC Suppression Costs Data, the average annual federal government fire suppression spending was $3.0 billion for the five-year period from 2019 to 2023, an increase of 28%, compared to $2.3 billion of average annual spending for the previous five-year period from 2014 to 2018. The funding is allocated to the Department of the Interior (the “DOI”) and the USFS. Our company then enters into short, medium and long-term contracts with federal agencies during the firefighting season. On the state level, we are generally seeing significant increases in several state governments and private entities who are preparing themselves for the new fire reality. For example, in July 2023, the federal government announced the allocation of $185.0 million to support wildland fire management nationwide in 2023 and to assist land managers in planning for wildfire management activities in fiscal year 2024. This investment builds on $278.0 million, announced in March 2023 and December 2022, already allocated in 2023. In 2021, Washington State invested $328.0 million over the five following years to fight wildfires. While this level of commitment is unique, it is reflective of the increased awareness across many levels of government and private entities that wildfire risk has entered a new era of severity.
Given our long-standing customer relationships with governmental bodies, we have an opportunity to fulfill this increased demand for firefighting services driven by longer and more severe fire seasons. We view the increased demand as a means to further government agency ties and to capitalize on new aircraft investments.
Increased demand and limited supply of purpose-built suppression aircraft
According to the reports published by the NICC, demand for Type 3 multi-engine airtankers, which includes our Super Scooper aircraft, increased by over 56% for the two-year period of 2021 and 2022 compared to the prior two-year period of 2019 and 2020. The Wildland Fire Reports showed that the increase in demand led to a higher percentage of unfulfilled requests, and in 2022, 34.9% of Type 3 multi-engine airtankers requests were unfulfilled compared to 8.9% in 2020.
Super Scoopers are multi-engine airtankers built specifically for wildland firefighting. They are highly effective at fighting fires and have historically only been owned and operated by foreign governments throughout Canada and the European Union (there are approximately 100 amphibious scooping aircraft owned by governments throughout the world) and as a result, used amphibious scooping aircraft are difficult to locate and obtain in the United States. We are an original customer for Longview Aviation Services Inc.’s (“LAS”) launch of their Super Scooper CL-415EAF (Enhanced Aerial Firefighter) Program. LAS has only manufactured a limited number of Super Scoopers available for sale between 2020 and 2025, and pursuant to our purchase agreement with LAS and Viking, dated April 13, 2018 (the “LAS Purchase Agreement”), we agreed to purchase six of the limited number of Super Scoopers. On February 17, 2023, we received our sixth Super Scooper, which allows greater deployment of the Bridger aircraft fleet across the U.S. As we are a long-standing customer of LAS, and as LAS develops their next generation of aerial firefighting solutions, our continuous feedback informs advancements in firefighting technology.
On November 17, 2023, we entered into a series of agreements with MAB Funding, LLC (“MAB”) and its subsidiary designed to facilitate the purchase and return to service of four Canadair CL-215T Amphibious Aircraft (the “Spanish Scoopers”) originally awarded to the Company in September 2023 via a public tender process from the Government of Spain for €40.3 million. The terms of the agreements provide that the Company will manage the return to service upgrades of the Spanish Scoopers while they are owned and funded by MAB. The Company has the right, but not the obligation, to acquire each plane as it is ready to be contracted and returned to service. The Company plans to acquire the Spanish Scoopers in a sequential manner as they are modified and subsequently contracted for service.
Given the limited supply of purpose-built multi-engine airtankers, upkeep and maintenance of existing aircraft is vital to minimize lapses in firefighting services occurring during wildfire season and to reduce the impact of any disruptions that occur. The Super Scooper is the only aerial fire suppression aircraft with factory OEM support which aids in reducing downtime.
Our Competitive Strengths
Full spectrum of aerial firefighting services
We provide full-spectrum aerial firefighting services, offering both fire suppression and aerial surveillance services in the U.S. and internationally. We emphasize continued investment in new aerial surveillance and aerial fire suppression aircraft. Our aerial surveillance fleet has evolved since our inception from a single aircraft and pilot to the fleet operated today. The diversity of our service offerings affords customers the opportunity to select the appropriate services for their specific needs.
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Purpose-built aircraft that can drop higher volumes of water
Our six Super Scooper aircraft are the latest model in the LAS production line and feature enhanced industry technology. Viking, a subsidiary of LAS, purchased the type certificate and is the OEM for the design of all the CL-215 and CL-415 models from Bombardier Aerospace. LAS then made significant improvements and introduced the Super Scooper, which includes the following improvements over the CL-415:
•Higher cruising speed;
•Improved air safety;
•Latest-generation technological reliability;
•New avionics and instrumentation;
•More accurate water discharge technology;
•Suitability for mountainous terrain;
•STOL on asphalt, gravel and water;
•Lower speed during water-bombing (low and slow flight);
•Improved operational efficiency; and
•Structural integrity.
The Super Scooper leverages modern turbine engines to deliver superior high-altitude performance. The Super Scooper is able to reload in under a minute, compared to a reload time of approximately 30 minutes to one hour for other air tankers, depending on base capabilities, enabling the Super Scooper to make more drops in the same amount of time. The Super Scooper can drop approximately 50,000 gallons before requiring refueling, while the largest tanker in the market can only drop 30,000 gallons of retardant before needing to refuel and reload retardant. The Super Scooper aircraft allow for rapid delivery of water strikes to extinguish wildfires, particularly when deployed in tandem or larger groups to allow for continuous water-delivery as aircraft return to the water source.
Highly-skilled crew of pilots and maintenance personnel
As of December 31, 2024, we have 15 captains on staff as part of the Super Scooper flight crew. Each captain has thousands of hours of flight time. All flight crew have a minimum of four years of aerial firefighting experience. Recurrent training for all flight crew is required in a Level D full motion flight simulator.
Each of our pilots attends annual and recurrent training specific to the aircraft they operate and to meet our standards of safety and standard operating procedures. Each pilot that flies an aircraft on contract for a government agency receives a certification card on an annual basis that validates they are qualified by the government to safely operate the aircraft while on contract.
As of December 31, 2024, we have 11 crew chiefs on staff as part of the Super Scooper maintenance crew. Each crew chief has thousands of hours maintaining aircraft in the Viking family and are familiar with firefighting operations. Factory training is mandatory for all of the maintenance team specific to the aircraft and components they maintain. They are also required to complete company-specific training courses regarding safety, standard operating procedures and systems in which they track and sign-off on maintenance logs.
Long-standing client relationships
We have provided aerial firefighting services since 2015 to government agencies, including the USFS, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (“Cal Fire”) and multiple other state governments. We have been praised as an industry leader, specifically by the USFS, with regards to the SMS program and have been recommended by the USFS as a model for safe aircraft operations. Currently, we maintain active contracts with multiple federal agencies and the state governments of many high wildfire risk states. Historically, we have experienced a 100% renewal rate on our federal and state contracts. We bid upon and were awarded a USFS multi-year contract beginning with the 2021 fire season through the beginning of the 2025 fire season for the use of our Super Scooper planes, which we anticipate will be extended through the 2025 fire season.
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Our relationship with the USFS involves two material service agreements: Contract No. 1202SA21T9009, dated as of June 3, 2021 (“Call-When-Needed Water Scooper Contract”), and a National Multiple Award Task Order Contract (“MATOC”), pursuant to which we provide light fixed wing aircraft firefighting services on an exclusive use basis for the Northern, Rocky Mountain, Southwestern, Intermountain and Pacific Southwest regions, as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Under the Call-When-Needed Water Scooper Contract, we provide Super Scooper aircraft services for wildland firefighting on a national basis for a period of four years from June 3, 2021. We generate revenue under the Call-When-Needed Water Scooper Contract from task orders placed by the USFS. Under the terms of the Call-When-Needed Water Scooper Contract, the USFS reserves the right to terminate the Call-When-Needed Water Scooper Contract, or any part thereof, for its sole convenience or in the event of any default by us. All of our light fixed-wing Air Attack aircraft and the multi-mission Pilatus are available under the MATOC.
Our Growth Strategy
Acquire and deploy additional aircraft to meet increased demand
We are an original customer for LAS’s launch of its Super Scooper CL-415EAF Program. There are approximately 100 amphibious scooping aircraft owned by governments throughout the world and as a result, used amphibious scooping aircraft are difficult to locate and obtain. LAS has only made a limited number of new Super Scoopers available for sale between 2020 and 2025, of which the Company has purchased six.
Expanding our services
Fire Monitoring Technology: Current consolidated fire data is controlled by wildfire agencies with limited to no access publicly available. On September 14, 2023, we acquired Ignis Technologies (“Ignis”) to develop a pioneering mobile and web platform that elevates firefighter situational awareness, creates an interoperable common operating picture across firefighting units and produces real time, high value data to help fire organizations better manage wildfire risk.
MRO: We have an experienced and well-trained crew of maintenance professionals. Maintenance personnel and their maintenance support staff are current on all general aviation standards and requirements and are specifically trained to service our fleet of aircraft as well as customer aircraft. We ensure our maintenance team has all the necessary equipment needed to exceed FAA maintenance standards and maintain USFS and DOI contract aircraft requirements. We are a FAA Certified Part 145 Repair Station offering in-house airframe and avionics repair capabilities for our aerial firefighting fleet. In April 2022, our Part 145 Certified Repair Station was awarded an ISO 9110 certification which is one of the highest standards in a repair organization recognized by the FAA. This certification was completed by the British Standards Institution, recognized as an industry leader in quality management systems.
Domestic and international expansion
We are committed to increasing our market share and service offering domestically and internationally. Given our competitive strengths, we believe we are well-positioned to take advantage of the growth in domestic demand for fire safety and environmental awareness. We currently have contracts in place with the USFS, the DOI, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Alaska Division of Forestry, Cal Fire, Colorado Department of Public Safety Division of Fire Prevention and Control, Idaho Department of Lands, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Oregon Department of Forestry.
We intend to penetrate certain additional domestic markets through leveraging existing relationships and building local market teams. We have established this historically by maintaining relationships in the field with customers, gathering near real-time feedback to improve operations, as well as holding regular feedback sessions to incorporate points of improvement and planning for subsequent years.
We are exploring the possibility of operating internationally during the North American wildfire off-season, which generally occurs between October and May. We seek to become a global entity that provides aerial firefighting services worldwide. Our goal is to bring our aerial suppression services to Europe through the agreement entered into for the Spanish Scoopers in November 2023. Additionally, we plan to bring the Super Scooper to Asia and/or South America in the future and to demonstrate the platform’s effectiveness. Currently, Super Scoopers are either not utilized on wildland fires in these areas or are not operated in a contractor-owned, contractor-operated business model. We plan to fill an underserved need to provide an alternative solution to aging and obsolete government-owned, government-operated fleets.
Pursuing Opportunistic Mergers & Acquisitions (“M&A”)
We intend to continue to evaluate M&A opportunities to expand our fleet, add new geographies or add additional services. Consistent with this strategy, we regularly evaluate potential acquisition opportunities, including ones that would be significant to us. We cannot predict the timing of any contemplated transactions, and none are currently probable.
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Seasonality
Our operating results are impacted by seasonality. Climate conditions and other factors that may influence our revenues may vary each quarter and year. Many of these factors are outside of our control, including but not limited to:
•forest fires tend to have a higher occurrence during the summer months and during times of drought, but are ultimately unpredictable;
•climate change and changes in global temperatures occur over time;
•unexpected weather patterns, natural disasters or other events that increase or decrease the rate or intensity of wildfires or impair our ability to perform firefighting services; and
•changes in governmental regulations or in the status of our regulatory approvals or applications.
Historically, the demand for our services has been higher in the second and third quarters of each fiscal year due to the timing and duration of the North American wildfire season. Consequently, revenues, expenses and operating cash flows from our services are generated mostly in the second and third quarters of our fiscal year. However, the seasonal fluctuation in the need to fight wildfires based upon location and the varying intensity of the wildfire season may lead our operating results to fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year.
Our Customers
Our high-performing aircraft, including the Super Scooper, and full-service support platforms have allowed us to enter into contracts with U.S. federal, state and local governmental entities and focus on growth while building additional services to map and analyze fire boundaries. Currently, we are engaged in short, medium and long-term contracts with multiple federal agencies such as the USFS and DOI and the state governments of many of the states most endangered by wildfires. Automatically renewing contracts with governmental entities provide stable revenue streams, allowing us to innovate in the aerial firefighting industry and diversify offerings to customers.
Our Competitors
Our primary competition is a private aerial firefighting operator that currently manages four CL-415s, three Type II Dash 8-400ATs and seven Avro RJ85s, which are designed to drop fire retardant. Additionally, from time-to-time we may compete with aerial firefighting companies that drop water from helicopters. However, our management does not view helicopters as a direct threat to our operations because while many helicopters are only able to pursue two-hour missions due to fuel capacity, our Super Scooper aircraft have four-hour fuel capacity.
Our Super Scooper program is not designed to replace the use of aircraft that drop fire retardant on wildfires. Fire retardant is a substance frequently deployed by large air tankers to slow down or stop the spread of fire and is frequently used to create a perimeter or border around a fire. While it is possible for a fire to burn through a fire line created by fire retardant, fire retardant remains a valuable tool in the fight and management of wildfires, and when combined with the deployment of Super Scoopers dropping water, can be effective in managing, controlling and slowing the spread of wildfires.
We believe our ability to compete successfully as an aerial firefighting service will depend on a number of factors, which may change in the future due to increased competition, including the price of our offerings, consumer confidence in the safety and efficacy of our offerings and consumer satisfaction for the solutions we offer. Additionally, we may compete with other aerial firefighting operators for federal and state budget dollars, and for various governmental service programs that support aerial firefighting programs.
Backlog
Backlog represents management’s estimate of the remaining unsatisfied performance obligation from work to be performed on our firm orders under uncompleted contracts and customer purchase orders, including approved change orders as well as new contractual agreements on which work has not begun. Our backlog will be recognized as revenue as we complete the remaining performance obligations. Our backlog does not include service and maintenance-type contracts for which we have the right to invoice as services are performed. Typically, our contracts may have an early termination for convenience clause at the discretion of our customers; however, most of these contracts typically provide for the reimbursement of our costs incurred and a reasonable margin in the event of such early termination. Our methodology for determining backlog may not be comparable to the methodology used by other companies.
As of December 31, 2024, the Company has backlog of $8.1 million, of which approximately $8.1 million is expected to be recognized as revenue within the next twelve months. Backlog may not be indicative of future operating results as orders may be cancelled or modified by our customers and may not be indicative of continuing revenue performance over future fiscal quarters.
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Human Capital
Our employees are critical to our success. On December 31, 2024, we had 191 employees. We have high selection standards, recruiting individuals with specific technical skills and demonstrated ability to work independently in a wide variety of work environments. Prior to joining our company, many of our employees had prior experience working for a wide variety of reputed research, commercial and military aerospace and non-aerospace organizations. As a company founded by veterans, we seek to employ qualified veterans and draw upon the experiences of their shared military background including their strategic mindset, management skillset and high level of discipline. As of December 31, 2024, approximately one out of ten of our employees is a veteran of the U.S. military.
To date, we have not experienced any work stoppages, and we consider our relationship with our employees to be good. We routinely solicit feedback from our entire employee base and empower individuals by encouraging them to formulate solutions and process improvements no matter the level of role. Accordingly, our voluntary turnover is very low, employee engagement is high and we have not experienced any interruptions of operations due to labor disagreements. Our employees are not subject to collective bargaining agreements or represented by labor union.
Health and Safety
We are committed to the safety of our employees. We maintain environmental, health and safety policies that seek to promote the operation of our business in a manner that is protective of the health and safety of the public and its employees. Our operations offer several health and welfare programs to employees to promote fitness and wellness and to encourage preventative healthcare. In addition, our employees are offered a confidential employee assistance program that provides professional counseling to employees and their family members. We have a holistic philosophy for our benefits offerings, supporting physical health, mental health, financial health, community support and a wide variety of insurance plans to hedge against uncertain losses (e.g., accident, short term disability, paid leaves and life insurance).
Employee Trainings
To address the inherently dangerous nature of the job, we adhere to achieving operational excellence and providing our employees with the means to further their development. All of our pilots are given extensive training during the winter months, regardless of tenure or previous experience. The trainings include classroom and online courses, simulators and in-plane time. We strive to have high industry standards and employ several dedicated pilot and airframe-specific trainers. Routinely, we fund enhanced workforce training in specific technical fields related to those employees’ desires. In one instance, we have had an employee who was hired as a facility cleaner. With further training and investment, the employee became a ground vehicle support manager and is now an aircraft mechanic. We also hire entry level mechanics and train them to obtain their airframe and powerplant certification, which allows them to perform maintenance on any aircraft unsupervised.
In addition to technical training, we invest heavily in leadership and management training as well as some of the most advanced safety training available in our industry. Before hiring externally as needs are identified, a careful analysis is done of our current staff to determine if the aptitude and interest is already in our employee base. By prioritizing training and promoting current employees, we enhance employee engagement and cut costs simultaneously.
Employee Retention and Opportunity
We believe that attraction and retention of top talent from a variety of backgrounds is important and we employ policies and procedures to recruit diverse talent as well as policies to ensure pay equality. We have an Equal Employment Opportunity Policy whereby we commit to providing equal employment opportunity, promotion, services, or activities which operates for all qualified employees and applicants without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, parental status, citizenship status, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information or other legally protected status. We drive a culture that understands and respects differences. We rely heavily on recruiting internationally to work on our purpose-built aerial firefighting aircraft and identify the cultural benefits that these individuals bring to our company.
Governmental Regulation
Federal Aviation Administration
The regulations, policies and guidance issued by the FAA apply to the use and operation of our aircraft. Operators of aircraft are required to have proper licenses, permits and authorizations from the FAA and comply with the FAA’s insurance requirements for third-party liability and government property. While our aircraft are currently registered with the FAA, in the event of a change in ownership, the FAA license will be updated with current information. In that instance, once any such new vehicle registration applications are filed, the applications will serve as registrations until the FAA issues the new vehicle registrations, which will allow operations to continue during that period.
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Failure to comply with the FAA’s aviation or space transportation regulations may result in civil penalties or private lawsuits, or the suspension or revocation of licenses or permits, which would prevent operating our aircraft.
In addition to the FAA, our industry is regulated by multiple federal agencies who, in some cases, act as both customer and regulator. We are proud to have a stellar record of performance both in flight and on the ground with respect to all of our regulatory bodies.
Other Information
General information about us can be found at bridgeraerospace.com. The information contained on or connected to our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K and should not be considered part of this or any other report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.
Summary of Risk Factors
Below is a summary of the principal factors that could adversely affect our business, operations and financial results. This summary does not address all of the risks that we face. Additional discussion of the risks summarized in this summary, and other risks that we face (including general risk factors), can be found below following this summary.
Aviation and Firefighting Risks
•Our operation of aircraft involves a degree of inherent risk, and we could suffer losses and adverse publicity stemming from any accident, whether related to us or not, involving aircraft, helicopters, or commercial drones similar to the assets we use in our operations.
•Our business is inherently risky in that it is fighting wildfires which are powerful and unpredictable.
•The unavailability of an aircraft due to loss, mechanical failure, lack of pilots or maintenance personnel, especially one of the Viking Air CL-415EAFs, would result in lower operating revenues for us for a period of time that cannot be determined and would likely be prolonged.
•Inability to source and hire personnel with appropriate skills and experience would inhibit operations.
•The development of superior alternative firefighting tactics or technology that do not rely on our existing and planned capital assets could reduce demand for our services and result in a material reduction in our revenue and results of operations.
Operations Risks
•A cyber-based attack of our IT systems could disrupt our ability to deliver services to our customers and could lead to increased overhead costs, decreased sales and harm to our reputation.
•Any failure to offer high-quality aerial firefighting services to customers may harm our relationships with our customers and could adversely affect our reputation, brand, business, financial condition and results of operations.
•We are subject to risks associated with climate change, including the potential increased impacts of severe weather events on our operations and infrastructure, and changes in weather patterns may result in lower demand for our services if such changes result in a reduced risk of wildfires.
•We are highly dependent on our senior management team and other highly skilled personnel with unique skills.
Seasonality Risks
•There is a seasonal fluctuation in the need to fight forest fires based upon location.
Sales and Customer Risks
•The aerial firefighting industry is expected to grow in the near future and is volatile, and if it does not develop, if it develops slower than we expect, if it develops in a manner that does not require use of our services, if it encounters negative publicity or if our solution does not drive commercial or governmental engagement, the growth of our business will be harmed.
•We depend significantly on government customers, which subjects us to risks including early termination, audits, investigations, sanctions and penalties.
•We rely on a few large customers for a majority of our business.
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Supplier Risks
•We rely on a limited number of suppliers for certain raw materials and supplied components.
•There is a limited supply of new CL-415EAF aircraft to purchase, and an inability to purchase additional CL-415EAF aircraft could impede our ability to increase our revenue and net income.
•We currently rely and will continue to rely on third-party partners to provide and store the parts and components required to service and maintain our aircraft, and to supply critical components and systems, which exposes us to a number of risks and uncertainties outside our control.
Financial and Capital Strategy Risks
•We may require substantial additional funding to finance our operations and growth strategy, but adequate additional financing may not be available when we need it, on acceptable terms, or at all.
•Our systems, aircraft, technologies and services and related equipment may have shorter useful lives than we anticipate.
•We have a substantial amount of debt and servicing future interest or principal payments may impair our ability to operate our business or require us to change our business strategy to accommodate the repayment of our debt.
Early-Stage Company Risks
•We have incurred significant losses since inception, and we may not be able to achieve, maintain or increase profitability or positive cash flow.
•The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert our management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain additional executive management and qualified board members.
•We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, which we are in the process of, and are focused on, remediating.
Risks Related to the Ownership of Our Securities
•The price of our Common Stock and Warrants are likely to be highly volatile.
•Our Common Stock is subject to restrictions on ownership by non-U.S. citizens, which could require divestiture by non-U.S. citizen stockholders and could have a negative impact on the transferability of our Common Stock, its liquidity and market value, and such restrictions may deter a potential change of control transaction.
•We may issue additional shares of our Common Stock or other equity securities, which would dilute your ownership interest in us and may depress the market price of our Common Stock.
•There can be no assurance that we will be able to comply with the continued listing standards of Nasdaq.
•The holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock have rights, preferences and privileges that are not held by, and are preferential to, the rights of holders of our Common Stock.
•A small number of Bridger’s stockholders could significantly influence its business.
•Future sales, or the perception of future sales, of a substantial number of shares of our Common Stock and Warrants, by us or our stockholders in the public market may cause the price of our Common Stock and Warrants to decline.
•Warrants are exercisable for our Common Stock and if exercised will increase the number of shares eligible for future resale in the public market and result in dilution to our stockholders.
The following risk factors and other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K should be carefully considered. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem less significant may also affect our business operations or financial results. If any of the following risks actually occur, our stock price, business, operating results and financial condition could be materially adversely affected and the market price of our securities could decline, causing our equity holders to lose all or a portion of their investment.
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Aviation and Firefighting Risks
Our operation of aircraft involves a degree of inherent risk, and we could suffer losses and adverse publicity stemming from any accident, whether related to us or not, involving aircraft, helicopters, or commercial drones similar to the assets we use in our operations.
The operation of aircraft is subject to various risks, and demand for firefighting services, may in the future be impacted by accidents or other safety issues regardless of whether such accidents or issues involve Bridger flights, our aircraft operators, or aircraft flown by our aircraft operators. Air transportation hazards, such as adverse weather conditions, fire and mechanical failures and the operation of third-party drones or other aircraft in the same air space as Bridger may operate, may result in death or injury to personnel and passengers which could impact client confidence in a particular aircraft type. Safety statistics for air travel are reported by multiple parties, including the Department of Transportation (the “DOT”) and National Transportation Safety Board, and are often separated into categories of transportation. Because our aerial firefighting services include a variety of aircraft, our clients may have a hard time determining how safe aerial firefighting services are, and their confidence in aerial firefighting may be impacted by, among other things, the classification of accidents in ways that reflect poorly on aerial firefighting services or the methods that aerial firefighting services utilize.
As the owners and operators of certain aircraft, including the CL-415EAFs, we believe that safety and reliability are two of the primary attributes that customers consider when selecting aerial firefighting services. Our failure to maintain standards of safety and reliability that are satisfactory to our customers may adversely impact our ability to retain current customers and attract new customers. We are at risk of adverse publicity stemming from any public incident involving our company, our people, or our brand. Such an incident could involve the actual or alleged behavior of any of our employees.
Increased accident history could bar us from certain contracts, thereby reducing demand for our services. Further, if our personnel or one of the aircraft models that is used by us is involved in a public incident, accident, catastrophe, or regulatory enforcement action, we could be exposed to significant reputational harm and potential legal liability. The insurance we carry may be inapplicable or inadequate to cover any such incident, accident, catastrophe, or action. In the event that our insurance is inapplicable or inadequate, we may be forced to bear substantial losses from an incident or accident. In addition, any such incident, accident, catastrophe, or action involving our employees or one of the aircraft models used by us could create an adverse public perception, which could harm our reputation, resulting in existing or potential customers being reluctant to use our services and adversely impacting our business, results of operations and financial condition. If one or more of our operators were to suffer an accident or lose the ability to fly certain aircraft due to safety concerns or investigations, we may be required to cancel or delay certain aerial firefighting services until replacement aircraft and personnel are obtained.
Our operations may also be negatively impacted by accidents or other safety-related events or investigations that occur in or near the airports and the hangars we utilize for our aerial firefighting services. For example, if an accident were to occur at or near one of our hangars that we rely on for certain flights, we may be unable to utilize that hangar until the accident has been cleared, any damages to the facilities have been repaired and any insurance, regulatory, or other investigations have been completed. Similarly, an adverse safety event by a third- party with respect to the CL-415EAF or any of the other planes in our fleet could result in temporary or permanent bans on certain aircraft models by our current or future customers.
Our business is inherently risky in that it is fighting wildfires which are powerful and unpredictable.
The performance of our services necessitates that we interact with wildfires. Wildfires can be massively unpredictable, and while we have implemented safety protocols and systems, these protocols and systems cannot eliminate the risk of accidents. Further, to effectively fight fires, flight operations often require low-level flights and involve performing services in mountainous terrain, both of which increase the risks involved with our services. To protect against these dangers, we may be required to incur more expenses and/or implement time- consuming safety protocols and systems, which could cause our expenses to be higher than anticipated. We may also be more likely to experience an adverse safety event.
The unavailability of an aircraft due to loss, mechanical failure, lack of pilots or maintenance personnel, especially one of the Viking Air CL-415EAFs, would result in lower operating revenues for us for a period of time that cannot be determined and would likely be prolonged.
Aircraft loss for any reason could impact our ability to provide services. Short- or long-term unavailability of an aircraft may also result from an aging fleet or parts obsolescence. Replacement aircraft or replacement parts may not be available or only available with significant delays.
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Our revenues are disproportionately derived from the services of our Super Scoopers. The unavailability of one or more of our Super Scoopers could result in a significant reduction in our revenues and adversely affect our results of operations. For example, in 2022, we experienced a delay with the delivery of our fifth and sixth Super Scooper aircraft. We originally expected that the fifth Super Scooper and sixth Super Scooper would be delivered in May and July 2022, respectively, but ultimately, the delivery and subsequent preparation for deployment of the fifth Super Scooper was delayed until September 2022 and the sixth Super Scooper was not delivered until February 2023. As a result of such delays, our results of operations for the 2022 wildfire season were materially affected. Additionally, only pilots with significant flight hours can operate Super Scoopers, and there are a limited number of available pilots due to the demanding levels of training. There are a limited number of Super Scoopers in operation globally. Certain replacement parts may be unavailable or difficult to obtain, and we may be unable to hire sufficient mechanics trained to service Super Scoopers.
Our pilots and mechanics are required by contract to meet a minimum standard of operational experience. Finding and employing individuals with the necessary level of experience and certification has required us to hire Canadian personnel in addition to U.S. personnel. Inability to source and hire personnel with appropriate skills and experience would inhibit operations.
Our business’s success depends on our continued ability to attract, retain and motivate highly qualified personnel with experience in the aviation space, including pilots and mechanics. However, competition for qualified personnel is intense. Our business may not be successful in attracting qualified personnel to fulfill our current or future needs. In the event that we are unable to fill critical open employment positions, we may need to delay our operational activities and goals, including the development and expansion of our business, and may have difficulty in meeting our obligations as a public company.
In addition, competitors and others may attempt to recruit our employees. The loss of the services of any of our key personnel, the inability to attract or retain highly qualified personnel in the future or delays in hiring such personnel, particularly senior management, pilots and other technical personnel, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the replacement of key personnel likely would involve significant time and costs and may significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our business objectives.
The development of superior alternative firefighting tactics or technology that do not rely on our existing and planned capital assets could reduce demand for our services and result in a material reduction in our revenue and results of operations.
Our aircraft have been modified to deploy our technology and support our existing firefighting tactics to fight wildfires. In particular, the Super Scooper is specially designed to fight forest fires with water and to refill from open bodies of water. If new technology or firefighting tactics are created or discovered that provide more powerful, more economic, faster, safer, more environmentally friendly or services that are otherwise superior in certain aspects to our current services, then we may see reduced demand for our services or be required to incur additional costs to adapt our fleet to such technologies or firefighting tactics. Additionally, current and potential government customers may push towards contracting services from customers with modernized fleets. All of these changes could narrow the scope of future contracts to exclude our existing assets, which could reduce demand for our services, our revenues and earnings.
Operations Risks
We rely on our IT systems to manage numerous aspects of our business. A cyber-based attack of these systems could disrupt our ability to deliver services to our customers and could lead to increased overhead costs, decreased sales and harm to our reputation.
We rely on IT networks and systems to operate and manage our business. Our IT networks and systems process, transmit and store personal and financial information and proprietary information of our business. The technology also allows us to coordinate our business across our operation bases and communicate with our employees and externally with customers, suppliers, partners and other third parties. While we believe we take reasonable steps to secure these IT networks and systems, and the data processed, transmitted and stored thereon, such networks, systems and data may be susceptible to cyberattacks, viruses, malware, or other unauthorized access or damage (including by environmental, malicious, or negligent acts), which could result in unauthorized access to, or the release and public exposure of, our proprietary information or our users’ personal information. In addition, cyberattacks, viruses, malware, or other damage or unauthorized access to our IT networks and systems could result in damage, disruptions, or shutdowns to our platform. Any of the foregoing could cause substantial harm to our business, require us to make notifications to our customers, governmental authorities, or the media, and could result in litigation, investigations or inquiries by government authorities, or subject us to penalties, fines and other losses relating to the investigation and remediation of such an attack or other unauthorized access or damage to our IT systems and networks.
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Our service, data and systems may be critical to operations or involve the storage, processing and transmission of sensitive data, including valuable intellectual property, other proprietary or confidential data, regulated data and personal information of employees and others. Successful breaches, employee malfeasance, or human or technological error could result in, for example, unauthorized access to, disclosure, modification, misuse, loss, or destruction of our or other third-party data or systems; theft of sensitive, regulated, or confidential data including personal information and intellectual property; the loss of access to critical data or systems; service or system disruptions or denials of service.
Our ability to attract and retain customers, to efficiently operate our business, and to compete effectively depends in part upon the sophistication, security and reliability of our technology network, including our ability to provide features of service that are important to our customers, to protect our confidential business information and the information provided by our customers, and to maintain customer confidence in our ability to protect our systems and to provide services consistent with their expectations. As a result, we are subject to risks imposed by data breaches and operational disruptions, including through cyberattack or cyber-intrusion, by computer hackers, foreign governments, cyber terrorists and activists, cyber criminals, malicious employees or other insiders of the Company or third-party service providers, and other groups and individuals.
Data breaches of companies and governments continue to increase as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased and we, our customers, and third parties increasingly store and transmit data by means of connected IT systems. Additionally, risks such as code anomalies, “Acts of God”, data leakage, cyber-fraud and human error pose a direct threat to our services, systems and data and could result in unauthorized or block legitimate access to sensitive or confidential data regarding our operations, customers, employees and suppliers, including personal information.
We also depend on and interact with the technology and systems of third parties, including our customers and third-party service providers such as cloud service providers. Such third parties may host, process, or have access to information we maintain about our company, customers, employees and vendors or operate systems that are critical to our business operations and services. Like us, these third parties are subject to risks imposed by data breaches, cyberattacks and other events or actions that could damage, disrupt, or close down their networks or systems. We have security processes, protocols and standards in place, including contractual provisions requiring such security measures, that are applicable to such third parties and are designed to protect information that is held by them, or to which they have access, as a result of their engagements with us. Nevertheless, a cyberattack could defeat one or more of such third parties’ security measures, allowing an attacker to obtain information about our company, customers, employees and vendors or disrupt our operations. These third parties may also experience operational disruptions or human error that could result in unauthorized access to sensitive or confidential data regarding our operations, customers, employees and suppliers, including personal information.
A disruption to our complex, global technology infrastructure, including those impacting our computer systems and website, could result in the loss of confidential business or customer information, require substantial repairs or replacements, resulting in significant costs, and lead to the temporary or permanent transfer by customers of some or all of their business to our competitors. The foregoing could harm our reputation and adversely impact our operations, customer service and results of operations. Additionally, a security breach could require us to devote significant management resources to address the problems created. A significant data breach or any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with any federal, state, or foreign privacy laws, regulations, or other principles or orders to which we may be subject could adversely affect our reputation, brand and business, and may result in claims, investigations, proceedings, or actions against us by governmental entities, litigation, including class action litigation, from our customers, fines, penalties, or other liabilities, or require us to change our operations or cease using certain data sets. Depending on the nature of the information compromised, we may also have obligations to notify users, law enforcement, government authorities, payment companies, consumer reporting agencies, or the media about the incident and may be required to expend additional resources in connection with investigating and remediating such an incident, and otherwise complying with applicable privacy and data security laws.
These types of adverse impacts could also occur in the event the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of company and customer information was compromised due to a data loss by us or a trusted third party. We or the third parties with which we share information may not discover any security breach and loss of information for a significant period of time after the security breach occurs.
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We have invested and continue to invest in technology security initiatives, information-technology risk management, business continuity and disaster recovery plans, including investments to retire and replace end-of-life systems. The development and maintenance of these measures is costly and requires ongoing monitoring and updating as technologies change and efforts to overcome security measures become increasingly more frequent, intense and sophisticated. Despite our efforts, we are not fully insulated from data breaches, technology disruptions, data loss and cyber-fraud, which could adversely impact our competitiveness and results of operations.
While we have significant security processes and initiatives in place, we may be unable to detect or prevent a breach or disruption in the future. Additionally, while we have insurance coverage designed to address certain aspects of cyber risks in place, such insurance coverage may be insufficient to cover all losses or all types of claims that may arise.
Failure to comply with federal, state and foreign laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection and consumer protection, or the expansion of current laws and regulations or the enactment of new laws or regulations in these areas, could adversely affect our business and our financial condition.
We are subject to a wide variety of laws in the United States and other jurisdictions related to privacy, data protection and consumer protection that are often complex and subject to varying interpretations. As a result, these privacy, data protection and consumer protection laws may change or develop over time through judicial decisions or as new guidance or interpretations are provided by regulatory and governing bodies and such changes or developments may be contrary to our existing practices. This may cause us to expend resources on updating, changing or eliminating some of our privacy and data protection practices.
Our reputation and ability to do business may be impacted by the improper conduct of our employees, agents, or business partners.
We have implemented compliance controls, training, policies and procedures designed to prevent and detect reckless or criminal acts from being committed by our employees, agents or business partners that would violate the laws of the jurisdictions in which we operate, including laws governing payments to government officials, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the protection of export controlled or classified information, such as the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”), false claims, procurement integrity, cost accounting and billing, competition, information security and data privacy and the terms of our contracts. This risk of improper conduct may increase as we continue to grow and expand our operations. We cannot ensure, however, that our controls, training, policies and procedures will prevent or detect all such reckless or criminal acts, and we have been adversely impacted by such acts in the past, which have been immaterial in nature. If not prevented, such reckless or criminal acts could subject us to civil or criminal investigations, monetary and non-monetary penalties and suspension and debarment by the U.S. government and could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct business, our results of operations and our reputation. In addition, misconduct involving data security lapses resulting in the compromise of personal information or the improper use of our customer’s sensitive or classified information could result in remediation costs, regulatory sanctions against us and serious harm to our reputation and could adversely impact our ability to continue to contract with the U.S. government.
Any failure to offer high-quality aerial firefighting services to customers may harm our relationships with our customers and could adversely affect our reputation, brand, business, financial condition and results of operations.
We strive to create high levels of customer satisfaction and brand trust through our services and the support provided by our employees. Our customers depend on our team to resolve any issues relating to our services, which are often emergencies, in an efficient and accurate manner. Our ability to provide effective and timely services is largely dependent on numerous factors, including our ability to maintain our existing fleet and our ability to attract and retain skilled employees who can support our customers and are sufficiently knowledgeable about our services. As we continue to grow our business and improve our platform, we will face challenges related to providing quality support at scale. Any failure to provide efficient and timely services, or a market perception that we do not maintain high-quality or dependable services, could adversely affect our reputation, brand, business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Natural disasters, unusual weather conditions, pandemic or epidemic outbreaks, terrorist acts and political events could disrupt our business.
The occurrence of one or more natural disasters such as fires, tornados, hurricanes, floods and earthquakes, unusual weather conditions, epidemic or pandemic outbreaks, terrorist attacks or disruptive political events where our facilities or the hangars where our aircraft fleets are located, could damage our fleet or other property and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Severe weather, such as rainfall, snowfall or extreme temperatures, may impact the ability for our aerial firefighting services to occur as planned, resulting in additional expense to reschedule or cancel altogether, thereby reducing our sales and profitability. Terrorist attacks, actual or threatened acts of war or the escalation of current hostilities, or any other military or trade disruptions impacting our domestic or foreign suppliers of components of our aircraft, may impact our operations by, among other things, causing supply chain disruptions and increases in commodity prices, which could adversely affect our raw materials or transportation costs. To the extent these events also impact one or more of our suppliers or result in the closure of any of their facilities or our facilities, we may be unable to fulfill our other contracts.
We are subject to risks associated with climate change, including the potential increased impacts of severe weather events on our operations and infrastructure, and changes in weather patterns may result in lower demand for our services if such changes result in a reduced risk of wildfires.
All climate change-related regulatory activity and developments may adversely affect our business and financial results by requiring us to reduce our emissions, make capital investments to modernize certain aspects of our operations, purchase carbon offsets, or otherwise pay for our emissions. Such activity may also impact us indirectly by increasing our operating costs.
The potential physical effects of climate change, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, floods, fires, fog, mist, freezing conditions, sea-level rise and other climate-related events, could affect our operations, infrastructure and financial results. We could incur significant costs to improve the climate resiliency of our infrastructure and otherwise prepare for, respond to and mitigate such physical effects of climate change. We are not able to accurately predict the materiality of any potential losses or costs associated with the physical effects of climate change. We believe that rising global temperatures have been, and in the future are expected to be, one factor contributing to increasing rates and severity of wildfires. Climate change and global temperatures are impacted my many variables, however, and cannot be predicted with certainty. If global temperatures were to decrease, then the rate and severity of wildfires may decrease as well, resulting in lower demand for our services.
Our business is dependent on the availability of aircraft fuel. Continued periods of significant disruption in the supply or cost of aircraft fuel could have a significant negative impact on consumer demand, our operating results and liquidity.
We are currently able to obtain adequate supplies of aircraft fuel but we cannot predict the future availability. Natural disasters (including hurricanes or similar events in the U.S. Southeast and on the Gulf Coast, where we have performed our aerial firefighting services), political disruptions or military conflicts involving oil-producing countries, economic sanctions imposed against oil-producing countries or specific industry participants, changes in fuel-related governmental policy, the strength of the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies, changes in the cost to transport or store petroleum products, changes in access to petroleum product pipelines and terminals, changes in relative tariff rates among nations, speculation in the energy futures markets, changes in aircraft fuel production capacity, environmental concerns and other unpredictable events may result in fuel supply shortages or distribution challenges in the future. Any of these factors or events could cause a disruption in or increased demands on oil production, refinery operations, pipeline capacity or terminal access and possibly result in diminished availability of aircraft fuel supply for our business. The impact of such events may limit our ability to perform our aerial firefighting services, which could result in loss of revenue and adversely affect our ability to provide our services.
System failures, defects, errors or vulnerabilities in our website, applications, backend systems or other technology systems, or those of third-party technology providers could harm our reputation and brand and adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our systems, or those of third parties upon which we rely, may experience service interruptions, outages or degradation because of hardware and software defects or malfunctions, human error, or malfeasance by third parties or our employees, contractors, or service providers, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, natural disasters, power losses, disruptions in telecommunications services, fraud, military or political conflicts, terrorist attacks, cyberattacks or other events. Our insurance may not be sufficient, and we may not have sufficient remedies available to us from our third-party service providers, to cover all of our losses that may result from such interruptions, outages or degradation.
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If we fail to adequately protect our proprietary intellectual property rights, our competitive position could be impaired and we may lose market share, generate reduced revenue and/or incur costly litigation to protect our rights.
Our success depends, in part, on our ability to protect our proprietary intellectual property rights, including certain technologies we utilize in arranging air firefighting services. To date, we have relied primarily on trade secrets and trademarks to protect our proprietary technology. Our software is also subject to certain protection under copyright law, though we have chosen not to register any of our copyrights. We routinely enter into non-disclosure agreements with our employees, consultants, third party aircraft operators and other relevant persons and take other measures to protect our intellectual property rights, such as limiting access to our trade secrets and other confidential information. We intend to continue to rely on these and other means, including patent protection, in the future. However, the steps we take to protect our intellectual property may be inadequate, and unauthorized parties may attempt to copy aspects of our intellectual property or obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary and, if successful, may potentially cause us to lose market share, harm our ability to compete and result in reduced revenue. Moreover, our non-disclosure agreements do not prevent our competitors from independently developing technologies that are substantially equivalent or superior to our products, and there can be no assurance that our competitors or third parties will comply with the terms of these agreements, or that we will be able to successfully enforce such agreements or obtain sufficient remedies if they are breached. There can be no assurance that the intellectual property rights we own or license will provide competitive advantages or will not be challenged or circumvented by our competitors.
Further, obtaining and maintaining patent, copyright and trademark protection can be costly, and we may choose not to, or may fail to, pursue or maintain such forms of protection for our technology in the United States or foreign jurisdictions, which could harm our ability to maintain our competitive advantage in such jurisdictions. It is also possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our technology before it is too late to obtain patent protection, that we will be unable to devote the resources to file and prosecute all patent applications for such technology, or that we will inadvertently lose protection for failing to comply with all procedural, documentary, payment and similar obligations during the patent prosecution process. The laws of some countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States, and mechanisms for enforcement of intellectual property rights in some foreign countries may be inadequate to prevent other parties from infringing our proprietary technology. To the extent we expand our international activities, our exposure to unauthorized use of our technologies and proprietary information may increase. We may also fail to detect unauthorized use of our intellectual property or be required to expend significant resources to monitor and protect our intellectual property rights, including engaging in litigation, which may be costly, time-consuming and divert the attention of management and resources and may not ultimately be successful. If we fail to meaningfully establish, maintain, protect and enforce our intellectual property rights, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We use open-source software in connection with our platform, which may pose risks to our intellectual property.
We use open source software in connection with our technology products and plan to continue using open-source software in the future. Some licenses governing the use of open-source software contain requirements that we make available source code for modifications or derivative works we create based upon the open-source software. If we combine or link our proprietary source code with open-source software in certain ways, we may be required, under the terms of the applicable open-source licenses, to make our proprietary source code available to third parties. Although we monitor our use of open-source software, we cannot provide assurance that all open-source software is reviewed prior to use in our platform, that our developers have not incorporated open-source software into our platform that we are unaware of, or that they will not do so in the future. Additionally, the terms of open-source licenses have not been extensively interpreted by United States or international courts, and so there is a risk that open-source software licenses could be construed in a manner that imposes unanticipated conditions or restrictions on us or our proprietary software. If an author or other third party that distributes such open-source software were to allege that we had not complied with the conditions of an open-source license, we could incur significant legal costs defending ourselves against such allegations or remediating any alleged non-compliance with open-source licenses. Any such remediation efforts could require significant additional resources, and we may not be able to successfully complete any such remediation. Further, in addition to risks related to license requirements, use of certain open-source software can lead to greater risks than use of third-party commercial software, as open-source licensors generally do not provide warranties, and the open-source software may contain security vulnerabilities.
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Our insurance may become too difficult or expensive for us to obtain or maintain. Increases in insurance costs or reductions in insurance coverage may materially and adversely impact our results of operations and financial position.
As the owners and operators of certain aircraft, we maintain general liability aviation premise insurance, non-owned aircraft liability coverage and directors and officers insurance, and we believe our level of coverage is customary in the industry and adequate to protect against claims. However, there can be no assurance that it will be sufficient to cover potential claims or that present levels of coverage will be available in the future at reasonable cost. Additionally, replacement aircraft, especially new Super Scoopers, may not be readily available for purchase, potentially resulting in lost revenue for extended periods of time. Further, we expect our insurance costs to increase as we anticipate adding aircraft, expanding our services and entering into new markets.
We are highly dependent on our senior management team and other highly skilled personnel with unique skills. We will need to be able to continue to grow our workforce with highly skilled workers in the future. If we are not successful in attracting or retaining highly qualified personnel, we may not be able to successfully implement our business strategy.
Our success depends, in significant part, on the continued services of our senior management team and on our ability to attract, motivate, develop and retain a sufficient number of other highly skilled personnel, including finance, marketing, sales and technology and support personnel. We believe that the breadth and depth of our senior management team’s experience across multiple industries will be instrumental to our success. The loss of any one or more members of our senior management team, for any reason, including resignation or retirement, could impair our ability to execute our business strategy and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected if we are unable to attract and retain skilled employees to support our operations and growth.
Our business may be adversely affected by labor and union activities.
None of our employees are currently represented by a labor union. However, it is common throughout the aerospace industry generally for many employees at aerospace companies to belong to a union, which can result in higher employee costs and increased risk of work stoppages. We may also directly and indirectly depend upon other companies with unionized work forces, such as parts suppliers and trucking and freight companies, and work stoppages or strikes organized by such unions could harm our business, financial condition or operating results.
We have entered into ground leases with terms of twenty (20) years and ten (10) years with the Gallatin Airport Authority (the “Airport Authority”) for each of our hangars. If the Airport Authority declines to renew any of our ground leases, our operations and results of operations could be materially and adversely impacted.
Our current hangars are located on certain land owned by the Airport Authority and leased to our subsidiaries. The initial term of each ground lease is either twenty (20) years or ten (10) years from its respective commencement date. These hangars are critical to our ability to provide maintenance on our aircraft. If the Airport Authority terminates our leases, or refuses to renew them when expired, we may incur significant costs to locate suitable alternative hangar locations and may incur increased costs to modify any replacement hangars for our business, and the process may require significant management attention.
Our lack of diversification with respect to the aircraft we use may subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments that disproportionately impact our aviation assets as compared to other fire suppression aircraft or alternative fire suppression services, which could adversely affect our ability to market and sell our services and our reputation.
Our fleet is comprised mainly of CL-415EAF aircraft, which is currently limited in supply (see the section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K entitled “Risk Factors — There is a limited supply of new CL-415EAF aircraft to purchase, and an inability to purchase additional CL-415EAF aircraft could impede our ability to increase our revenue and net income.”). Furthermore, regulations or restrictions that cause us to ground the fleet after a safety or maintenance event, whether or not in connection with us or our services, have the potential to significantly affect our ability to carry out our operations and generate revenue. A similar incident could also damage our reputation or the perception of safety or efficacy of the CL-415EAF in fighting wildfires, which could negatively impact our business and results of operations.
Any delays in the development, design and engineering of our products and services may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We have previously experienced, and may experience in the future, delays or other complications in the design, production, delivery and servicing ramp of our systems, products, technologies, services and related technology. If delays like this arise or recur, if our remediation measures and process changes do not continue to be successful or if we experience issues with design and safety, we could experience issues or delays in increasing production further.
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If we encounter difficulties in scaling our delivery or servicing capabilities, if we fail to develop and successfully commercialize our products and services, if we fail to develop such technologies before our competitors, or if such technologies fail to perform as expected, are inferior to those of our competitors or are perceived to offer less mission assurance than those of our competitors, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely impacted.
Seasonality Risks
There is a seasonal fluctuation in the need to fight forest fires based upon location. A significant portion of our total revenue has historically occurred during the second and third quarters of the year due to the North American fire season, and the intensity of the fire season varies from year to year. As a result, our operating results may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and from year to year.
Our quarterly and annual operating results may fluctuate significantly, which makes our future operating results difficult to predict and could cause our operating results to fall below expectations or any guidance we may provide. These fluctuations may occur due to a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control, including but not limited to: forest fires tend to have a higher occurrence during the summer months and during times of drought, but are ultimately unpredictable; climate change and changes in global temperatures occur over time; unexpected weather patterns, natural disasters or other events that increase or decrease the rate or intensity of wildfires or impair our ability to perform firefighting services; changes in governmental regulations or in the status of our regulatory approvals or applications. The individual or cumulative effects of factors discussed above could result in large fluctuations and unpredictability in our quarterly and annual operating results. As a result, comparing our operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful or be a good indication of our current or future performance. For example, due to the condensed and less intense 2023 wildfire season, we experienced a decrease in demand for our wildfire surveillance, relief and suppression and aerial firefighting services and had less flight hours and standby days than prior years, which negatively impacted our results of operations for the 2023 wildfire season. Compared to an earlier start to the 2024 wildfire season, we experienced an increase in demand for our wildfire surveillance, relief and suppression and aerial firefighting services and had more flight hours and standby days than prior year, which positively impacted our results of operations for the 2024 wildfire season and there is no assurance that such increase in demand before the typical fire season will occur in future years.
This variability and unpredictability could also result in our failing to meet the expectations of industry or financial analysts or investors for any period. If our revenue or operating results fall below the expectations of analysts or investors or below any guidance we may provide, or if any guidance we provide is below the expectations of analysts or investors, the price of our Common Stock could decline substantially. Such a stock price decline could occur even when we have met any previously publicly stated guidance we may provide. Furthermore, if we are unable to obtain access to working capital or if seasonal fluctuations are greater than anticipated, there could be a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
Extreme weather, drought and shifting climate patterns have intensified the challenges associated with many of the risks facing the Company, particularly wildfire management.
Extreme weather, drought and shifting climate patterns have intensified the challenges associated with many of the other risks facing our business, particularly wildfire management. Our service territory encompasses some of the most densely forested areas in the United States and, as a consequence, is subject to risks from vegetation- related ignition events. Further, environmental extremes, such as drought conditions and extreme heat followed by periods of wet weather, can drive additional vegetation growth (which can then fuel fires) and influence both the likelihood and severity of extraordinary wildfire events. Contributing factors other than environmental can include local land use policies and historical forestry management practices. The combined effects of extreme weather and climate change also impact this risk.
Further, we have been studying the potential effects of climate change (increased severity and frequency of storm events, sea level rise, land subsidence, change in temperature extremes, changes in precipitation patterns and drought and wildfire) on Bridger’s assets, operations and services, and we are developing adaptation plans to set forth a strategy for those events and conditions that we believe are most significant. Consequences of these climate-driven events may vary widely and could include increased stress on our services due to new patterns of demand, physical damage to our fleet and infrastructure, higher operational costs and an increase in the number requests for our services. In addition, we could incur substantial costs to repair or replace aircraft and facilities.
Events or conditions caused by climate change could have a greater impact on our operations than our studies suggest and could result in a fluctuation in revenues and expenses. Conversely, the impact could be less than we anticipate, which we expect would result in reduce demand for our aerial firefighting services.
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The substantial majority of our revenue currently is concentrated in the Western United States.
Currently, the substantial majority of our revenue is generated in the states of the United States located west of the Mississippi River, and if the weather patterns result in fewer wildfires in this region, demand for “flight hour” services would decrease and potentially result in a material decrease in revenue or net income.
Sales and Customer Risks
The aerial firefighting industry is expected to grow in the near future and is volatile, and if it does not develop, if it develops slower than we expect, if it develops in a manner that does not require use of our services, if it encounters negative publicity or if our solution does not drive commercial or governmental engagement, the growth of our business will be harmed.
The market for aerial firefighting is still rapidly evolving, characterized by rapidly changing technologies, competitive pricing and competitive factors, evolving government regulation and industry standards and changing customer demands and behaviors. If the market for our services in general does not develop as expected, or develops more slowly than expected, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be harmed.
In the future, there may be other businesses who attempt to provide the services that we provide, or our main private competitors could attempt to increase operations. In the future, federal, state and local governments and foreign governments may also decide to directly provide such services.
The industry in which we operate may become increasingly competitive as a result of the expansion of the demand for aerial firefighting operations or the entrance of federal, state and local governments and foreign governments into the aerial firefighting space. We compete against a number of private operators with different business models, and new entrants may begin offering aerial firefighting services. Factors that affect competition in our industry include price, reliability, safety, regulations, professional reputation, aircraft availability, equipment and quality, consistency and ease of service and willingness and ability to serve specific regions. There can be no assurance that our competitors will not be successful in capturing a share of our present or potential customer base. Certain governments may decide a government owned, government operated model is preferable, from a cost perspective or otherwise, to perform aerial firefighting services directly or to own their own aircraft and contract with independent operators. The materialization of any of these risks could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If we experience harm to our reputation and brand, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Continuing to increase the strength of our reputation and brand for reliable, experience-driven and cost- effective aerial firefighting services is critical to our ability to attract and retain qualified aircraft operators. In addition, our growth strategy may include international expansion through joint ventures, minority investments or other partnerships with local companies, as well as event activations and cross-marketing with other established brands, all of which benefit from our reputation and brand recognition. If we fail to protect our reputation and brand recognition, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We have government customers, which subjects us to risks including early termination, audits, investigations, sanctions and penalties. We are also subject to regulations applicable to government contractors which increase our operating costs and if we fail to comply, could result in the termination of our contracts with government entities.
We derive a substantial portion of our revenue from contracts with the U.S. government (accounting for approximately 67% and 72% of our total revenue for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively) and may enter into additional contracts with the U.S. or foreign governments in the future. This subjects us to statutes and regulations applicable to companies doing business with the government, including the FAA. These government contracts customarily contain provisions that give the government substantial rights and remedies, many of which are not typically found in commercial contracts and which are unfavorable to contractors. For instance, most U.S. government agencies include provisions that allow the government to unilaterally terminate or modify contracts for convenience, and in that event, the counterparty to the contract may generally recover only its incurred or committed costs and settlement expenses and profit on work completed prior to the termination. In addition, as a small business, we have been awarded certain government contracts based on our status under the applicable regulations of the Small Business Association. If we continue to expand and are unable to maintain this small business status, we may no longer be eligible to utilize the small business status to grow our business. If the government terminates a contract for default, the defaulting party may be liable for any extra costs incurred by the government in procuring undelivered items from another source.
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All of our federal and state government contracts (accounting for approximately 81% and 73% of our total revenue for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively) are subject to the annual approval of appropriations being made by the applicable state or federal legislative bodies to fund the expenditures under these contracts. In addition, government contracts normally contain additional requirements that may increase our costs of doing business, reduce our profits and expose us to liability for failure to comply with these terms and conditions. These requirements include, for example:
•specialized disclosure and accounting requirements unique to government contracts;
•financial and compliance audits that may result in potential liability for price adjustments, recoupment of government funds after such funds have been spent, civil and criminal penalties or administrative sanctions such as suspension or debarment from doing business with the U.S. government;
•public disclosures of certain contract and company information; and
•mandatory socioeconomic compliance requirements, including labor requirements, non-discrimination and affirmative action programs and environmental compliance requirements.
Government contracts are also generally subject to greater scrutiny by the government, which can initiate reviews, audits and investigations regarding our compliance with government contract requirements. In addition, if we fail to comply with government contracting laws, regulations and contract requirements, our contracts may be subject to termination, and we may be subject to financial and/or other liability under our contracts, the Federal Civil False Claims Act (including treble damages and other penalties) or criminal law. In particular, the False Claims Act’s “whistleblower” provisions also allow private individuals, including present and former employees, to sue on behalf of the U.S. government. Any penalties, damages, fines, suspension or damages could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results.
The U.S. government’s budget deficit and the national debt, as well as any inability of the U.S. government to complete its budget process for any government fiscal year and consequently having to shut down or operate on funding levels equivalent to its prior fiscal year pursuant to a “continuing resolution,” could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Considerable uncertainty exists regarding how future budget and program decisions will unfold, including the aerial firefighting spending priorities of the U.S. government, what challenges budget reductions will present for the aerial firefighting industry and whether annual appropriations bills for all agencies will be enacted for U.S. government fiscal year 2025 and thereafter due to many factors, including but not limited to, changes in the political environment, including before or after a change to the leadership within the government administration, and any resulting uncertainty or changes in policy or priorities and resultant funding. The U.S. government’s budget deficit and the national debt could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows in a number of ways, including the following:
•The U.S. government could reduce or delay its spending on, reprioritize its spending away from, or decline to provide funding for the government programs in which we participate;
•U.S. government spending could be impacted by alternate arrangements to sequestration, which increases the uncertainty as to, and the difficulty in predicting, U.S. government spending priorities and levels; and
•We may experience declines in revenue, profitability and cash flows as a result of reduced or delayed orders or payments or other factors caused by economic difficulties of our customers and prospective customers, including U.S. federal, state and local governments.
Furthermore, we believe continued budget pressures could have serious negative consequences for the aerial firefighting industrial base and the customers, employees, suppliers, investors and communities that rely on companies in the aerial firefighting industrial base. Budget and program decisions made in this environment would have long-term implications for us and the entire aerial firefighting industry.
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We depend significantly on U.S. government contracts, which often are only partially funded, subject to immediate termination, and heavily regulated and audited. The interruption of or termination or failure to fund, or negative audit findings for, one or more of these contracts could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Over its lifetime, a U.S. government program may be implemented by the award of many different individual contracts and subcontracts. The funding of U.S. government programs is subject to U.S. Congressional appropriations. In recent years, U.S. government appropriations have been affected by larger U.S. government budgetary issues and related legislation. Although multi-year contracts may be authorized and appropriated in connection with major procurements, Congress generally appropriates funds on a government fiscal year basis. Procurement funds are typically made available for obligation over the course of one to three years. Consequently, programs often initially receive only partial funding, and additional funds are obligated only as Congress authorizes further appropriations. As a result of the restrictions on the authority of federal agencies to obligate federal funds without annual appropriations from Congress, most of our contracts are structured for one base year with options for up to four additional years. We cannot predict the extent to which total funding and/or funding for individual programs will be included, increased or reduced as part of the annual appropriations process ultimately approved by Congress and the President of the United States or in separate supplemental appropriations or continuing resolutions, as applicable. The termination of funding for a U.S. government program would result in a loss of anticipated future revenue attributable to that program, which could have an adverse impact on our operations. In addition, the termination of a program or the failure to commit additional funds to a program that already has been started could result in lost revenue and increase our overall costs of doing business.
Generally, U.S. government contracts are subject to oversight audits by U.S. government representatives. Such audits could result in adjustments to our contract costs. Any costs found to be improperly allocated to a specific contract will not be reimbursed, and such costs already reimbursed must be refunded. We have recorded contract revenue based on costs we expect to realize. However, we do not know the outcome of any future audits and adjustments, and we may be required to materially reduce our revenue or profits upon completion and final negotiation of audits. Negative audit findings could also result in termination of a contract, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments, fines or suspension or debarment from U.S. Government contracting or subcontracting for a period of time.
In addition, U.S. government contracts generally contain provisions permitting termination, in whole or in part, without prior notice at the U.S. government’s convenience upon payment only for work done and commitments made at the time of termination. For some contracts, we are a subcontractor and not the prime contractor, and in those arrangements, the U.S. Government could terminate the prime contractor for convenience without regard for our performance as a subcontractor. We can give no assurance that one or more of our U.S. government contracts will not be terminated under those circumstances. Also, we can give no assurance that we would be able to procure new contracts to offset the revenue or backlog lost as a result of any termination of our U.S. government contracts. Because a significant portion of our revenue is dependent on our performance and payment under our U.S. government contracts, the loss of one or more large contracts could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Our U.S. government business also is subject to specific procurement regulations and a variety of socioeconomic and other requirements. These requirements, although customary in U.S. government contracts, increase our performance and compliance costs. These costs might increase in the future, thereby reducing our margins, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, the U.S. government has and may continue to implement initiatives focused on efficiencies, affordability and cost growth and other changes to its procurement practices, such as those pursued by the recently created Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”). On January 20, 2025, President Trump announced an executive order establishing the DOGE to maximize government efficiency and productivity. In February 2025, President Trump stated that he has directed DOGE to review Pentagon spending for potential waste and fraud. Pressures on and uncertainty surrounding the U.S. federal government’s budget and potential changes in budgetary priorities, could adversely affect our revenue, financial condition, and results of operations. These initiatives and changes to procurement practices may change the way U.S. government contracts are solicited, negotiated and managed, which may affect whether and how we pursue opportunities to provide our products and services to the U.S. government, including the terms and conditions under which we do so, which may have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. For example, contracts awarded under the United States Department of Defense’s Other Transaction Authority for research and prototypes generally require cost-sharing and may not follow, or may follow only in part, standard U.S. government contracting practices and terms, such as the Federal Acquisition Regulation and Cost Accounting Standards.
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Failure to comply with applicable regulations and requirements could lead to fines, penalties, repayments, or compensatory or treble damages or suspension or debarment from U.S. government contracting or subcontracting for a period of time. Among the causes for debarment are violations of various laws and regulations, including those related to procurement integrity, export control (including ITAR), U.S. government security, employment practices, protection of the environment, accuracy of records, proper recording of costs and foreign corruption. The termination of a U.S. government contract or relationship as a result of any of these acts would have an adverse impact on our operations and could have an adverse effect on our standing and eligibility for future U.S. government contracts.
We may be blocked from or limited in providing or offering our services in certain jurisdictions and may be required to modify our business model in those jurisdictions as a result.
We face regulatory obstacles, including those lobbied for in local government, which could prevent us from operating our aerial firefighting services. We may incur significant costs in defending our right to operate in accordance with our business model in many jurisdictions. To the extent that efforts to block or limit our operations are successful, or we or third-party aircraft operators are required to comply with regulatory and other requirements applicable to our services, our revenue and growth would be adversely affected.
We may enter into firefighting contracts in the future with foreign governments, which may result in increased compliance and oversight risks and expenses.
If we enter into contracts with foreign governments in the future, we may be subject to further regulations and complicated procurement processes that require significant expense and/or management attention. Additionally, contracts with foreign governments often necessitate higher levels of compliance and oversight functions, which could increase our costs, making us less competitive and hurting our results from operations.
We rely on a few large customers for a majority of our business, and the loss of any of these customers, significant changes in the prices, marketing allowances or other important terms provided to any of these customers or adverse developments with respect to the financial condition of these customers could materially reduce our net income and operating results.
Our total revenues are concentrated among a small number of large customers. Sales to our two largest customers in the aggregate represented 73%, sales to our largest customer represented 61% of our total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2024, and three customers that accounted for 72% of accounts receivable as of December 31, 2024. Sales to our three largest customers in the aggregate represented 88%, sales to our largest customer represented 65% of our total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023, and three customers that accounted for 92% of accounts receivable as of December 31, 2023. We are under continued pressure from our major customers to offer lower prices, extended payment terms, increased marketing and other allowances and other terms more favorable to these customers because our sales to these customers are concentrated, and the market in which we operate is very competitive. These customer demands have put continued pressure on our operating margins and profitability, resulted in periodic negotiations in connection with open requests for proposals to provide more favorable prices and terms to these customers and significantly increased our working capital needs. In addition, this customer concentration leaves us vulnerable to any adverse change in the financial condition of these customers. Changes in terms with, significant allowances for and collections from these customers could affect our operating results and cash flows. The loss of our main customers could adversely affect our business.
We may be unable to manage our future growth effectively, which could make it difficult to execute our business strategy.
If our operations continue to grow as planned, of which there can be no assurance, we will need to expand our sales, marketing, operations and the number of aircraft that we own and operate in connection with our aerial firefighting services. Our continued growth could increase the strain on our resources, and we could experience operating difficulties, including difficulties in hiring, training and managing an increasing number of employees. These difficulties may result in the erosion of our brand image, divert the attention of management and key employees and impact financial and operational results. In addition, in order to continue to increase our presence, we expect to incur substantial expenses and capital expenditures as we continue to attempt to increase our coverage areas, aircraft fleet and employee base. The continued expansion of our business may also require additional space for administrative support. If we are unable to drive commensurate growth, these costs, which include lease commitments, marketing costs and headcount, could result in decreased margins, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Our cash flow and profitability could be reduced if expenditures are incurred prior to the final receipt of a contract.
We provide services on behalf of our customers under various contractual arrangements. From time to time, in order to ensure that we satisfy our customers’ requirements and time-sensitive needs, we may elect to initiate procurement in advance of receiving final authorization from the government customer or a prime contractor. If our government or prime contractor customer’s requirements should change or if the government or the prime contractor should direct the anticipated procurement to another contractor, or if the anticipated contract award does not materialize, our investment might be at risk. This could reduce anticipated earnings or result in a loss, negatively affecting our cash flow and profitability.
If we are not able to successfully enter into new markets and offer new services and enhance our existing offerings, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Our growth will depend in part on our ability to successfully enter into new markets and expand on our existing services. Significant changes to our existing services may require us to obtain and maintain applicable permits, authorizations or other regulatory approvals. If these new services are unsuccessful or fail to attract a sufficient number of customers to be profitable, or we are unable to bring new or expanded services to market efficiently, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. Furthermore, new demands regarding our services, including the availability of superior services or a deterioration in the quality of our existing services, could negatively affect the attractiveness of our platform and the economics of our business and require us to make substantial changes to and additional investments in our routes or our business model. Developing and launching new services or enhancements to our existing services involves significant risks and uncertainties, including risks related to the reception of such services by existing and potential future customers, increases in operational complexity, unanticipated delays or challenges in implementing such services or enhancements, increased strain on our operational and internal resources (including an impairment of our ability to accurately forecast flier demand and the number of customers using our platform) and negative publicity in the event such new or enhanced routes are perceived to be unsuccessful. We have scaled our business rapidly, and significant new initiatives have in the past resulted in such operational challenges affecting our business. In addition, developing and launching new services and enhancements to our existing services may involve significant upfront investment, such as purchasing additional aircraft, and such investments may not generate return on investment.
Supplier Risks
We rely on a limited number of suppliers for certain raw materials and supplied components. We may not be able to obtain sufficient raw materials or supplied components to meet our maintenance or operating needs or obtain such materials on favorable terms or at all, which could impair our ability to provide our services in a timely manner or increase our costs of services and maintenance.
Our ability to produce our current and future systems, technologies and services and other components of operation is dependent upon sufficient availability of raw materials and supplied components, which we secure from a limited number of suppliers. Our reliance on suppliers to secure raw materials and supplied components exposes us to volatility in the prices and availability of these materials. We may not be able to obtain sufficient supplies of raw materials or supplied components on favorable terms or at all, which could result in delays in the provision of our services, our ability to repair and service our assets, or increased costs, any of which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. In particular, we rely on Viking, the manufacturer of our Super Scooper aircraft and an affiliate of LAS, to source and acquire the parts and materials needed to maintain our Super Scoopers and Bridger has not identified a readily available alternative supplier for certain of such parts. If we are unable to obtain (including as a result of a disruption to Viking’s business operations, supply lines or the impact of trade restrictions on Viking’s ability to source raw materials on a cost effective basis, or at all) the necessary parts and materials to maintain our Super Scooper aircraft from Viking, and if we are unable to identify an alternative supplier for such parts and materials in a timely manner, then our business operations, including the maintenance and performance of our Super Scooper aircraft, and results of operations would be adversely affected.
There is a limited supply of new CL-415EAF aircraft to purchase, and an inability to purchase additional CL-415EAF aircraft could impede our ability to increase our revenue and net income.
Currently, a majority of our revenue derives from services performed by the CL-415EAF. LAS has only made a limited number of CL-415EAFs available for sale between 2020 and 2025. If we continue to focus operations on a single airframe for fire suppression and we do not expand our fleet to other aircraft, our operations may be impacted by the limited supply of new CL-415EAF aircraft available to purchase, which creates a revenue ceiling until additional aircraft can be produced or acquired, which could adversely affect our results of operation and ability to obtain efficiencies of scale.
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We currently rely and will continue to rely on third-party partners to provide and store the parts and components required to service and maintain our aircraft, and to supply critical components and systems, which exposes us to a number of risks and uncertainties outside our control. Disputes with our suppliers or the inability of our suppliers to perform, or our key suppliers to timely deliver our components, parts or services, could cause our services to be provided in an untimely or unsatisfactory manner.
We are substantially reliant on our relationships with our suppliers and service providers for the parts and components in our aircraft. If any of these suppliers or service partners were to experience delays, disruptions, capacity constraints or quality control problems in their manufacturing operations, or if they choose to not do business with us, we would have significant difficulty in procuring and preparing our aircraft for service, and our business prospects would be significantly harmed. These disruptions would negatively impact our revenues, competitive position and reputation. In addition, our suppliers or service partners may rely on certain state tax incentives that may be subject to change or elimination in the future, which could result in additional costs and delays in production if a new manufacturing site must be obtained. Further, if we are unable to successfully manage our relationship with our suppliers or service partners, the quality and availability of our aircraft may be harmed. Our suppliers or service partners could, under some circumstances, decline to accept new purchase orders from or otherwise reduce their business with us. If our suppliers or service partners stopped manufacturing our aircraft components for any reason or reduced manufacturing capacity, we may be unable to replace the lost manufacturing capacity on a timely and comparatively cost-effective basis, which would adversely impact our operations.
The manufacturing facilities of our suppliers or service partners and the equipment used to manufacture the components for our aircraft would be costly to replace and could require substantial lead time to replace and qualify for use. The manufacturing facilities of our suppliers or service partners may be harmed or rendered inoperable by natural or man-made disasters, including earthquakes, flooding, fire and power outages, or by public health issues, which may render it difficult or impossible for us to manufacture our aircraft for some period of time. The inability to manufacture our aircraft components or the backlog that could develop if the manufacturing facilities of our suppliers or service partners are inoperable for even a short period of time may result in the loss of customers or harm our reputation.
We do not control our suppliers or service partners or such parties’ labor and other legal compliance practices, including their environmental, health and safety practices. If our current suppliers or service partners, or any other suppliers or service partners which we may use in the future, violate U.S. or foreign laws or regulations, we may be subjected to extra duties, significant monetary penalties, adverse publicity, the seizure and forfeiture of products that we are attempting to import or the loss of our import privileges. The effects of these factors could render the conduct of our business in a particular country undesirable or impractical and have a negative impact on our operating results.
Legal and Regulatory Risks
Our business is subject to a wide variety of additional extensive and evolving government laws and regulations. Failure to comply with such laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We are subject to a wide variety of laws and regulations relating to various aspects of our business, including with respect to employment and labor, health care, tax, privacy and data security, health and safety and environmental issues. Laws and regulations at the foreign, federal, state and local levels frequently change, especially in relation to new and emerging industries, and we cannot always reasonably predict the impact from, or the ultimate cost of compliance with, current or future regulatory or administrative changes. We monitor these developments and devote a significant amount of management’s time and external resources towards compliance with these laws, regulations and guidelines, and such compliance places a significant burden on management’s time and other resources, and it may limit our ability to expand into certain jurisdictions. Moreover, changes in law, the imposition of new or additional regulations or the enactment of any new or more stringent legislation that impacts our business could require us to change the way we operate and could have a material adverse effect on our sales, profitability, cash flows and financial condition.
Failure to comply with these laws, such as with respect to obtaining and maintaining licenses, certificates, authorizations and permits critical for the operation of our business, may result in civil penalties or private lawsuits, or the suspension or revocation of licenses, certificates, authorizations or permits, which would prevent us from operating our business. For example, aerial firefighting and the operation of any aircraft in the United States require licenses and permits from the FAA and review by other agencies of the U.S. government, including the USFS and the DOI. License approval can include an interagency review of safety, operational, national security and foreign policy and international obligations implications, as well as a review of foreign ownership.
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Compliance with existing or new laws can delay our operations and impair our ability to fully utilize our assets. For example, each of the aircraft acquired and operated by us is subject to a conformance and registration process with the FAA prior to use in commercial operations. This conformance carding and registration process takes some time and can be delayed from time to time due to events outside of our control, including such events as federal government shutdowns or slowdowns in operations of the FAA.
Additionally, regulation of our industry is still evolving, and new or different laws or regulations could affect our operations, increase direct compliance costs for us or cause any third-party suppliers or contractors to raise the prices they charge us because of increased compliance costs. Application of these laws to our business may negatively impact our performance in various ways, limiting the collaborations we may pursue, further regulating the export and re-export of our services and technology from the United States and abroad and increasing our costs and the time necessary to obtain required authorization. The adoption of a multi-layered regulatory approach to any one of the laws or regulations to which we are or may become subject, particularly where the layers are in conflict, could require changes to the performance of our services or operational parameters which may adversely impact our business. We may not be in complete compliance with all such requirements at all times and, even when we believe we are in complete compliance, a regulatory agency may determine that we are not.
Our operations are subject to various federal, state and local laws and regulations governing health and the environment.
We are subject to a wide variety of various federal, state and local laws and regulations governing health and the environment due to the nature of our operations. Changes in the legal and or regulatory framework relating to the environment could have significant impact on our operations. For example, certain local land use policies and forestry management practices could be restricted to reduce the construction and development of residential and commercial projects in high-risk fire areas, which could lead to a reduction in demand for our services. Likewise, certain or future state and local water use and access policies could restrict our ability to access the bodies of water necessary to combat wildfires with our existing fire suppression aircraft. In the future, we may be unable to secure exemptions to these policies, and demand for our services could decrease. If these or any other change in the legal or regulatory framework relating to the environmental impact the operation of our business and the provision of our services, our costs, revenue and results of operations may be adversely affected.
Financial and Capital Strategy Risks
We may require substantial additional funding to finance our operations and growth strategy, but adequate additional financing may not be available when we need it, on acceptable terms, or at all, and our ability to pursue equity financings may depend in part, on the market price of our Common Stock.
We financed our operations and capital expenditures during 2022 and 2023 primarily through private financing rounds, including the $160.0 million aggregate municipal bond financing that closed on July 21, 2022 and August 10, 2022. During 2024, the Company sold an aggregate of 33,798 shares of Common Stock at a weighted-average price of $5.13 per share for net proceeds of $0.2 million under the 2024 ATM Agreement. In addition, the Company raised additional equity capital through a registered direct equity offering resulting in net cash proceeds of approximately $9.2 million. In the future, we could be required to raise capital through public or private financing or other arrangements. Such financing may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all, and our failure to raise capital when needed could harm our business. We may sell equity securities or debt securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner as we may determine from time to time for general corporate purposes or for specific purposes, including in order to pursue growth initiatives. Any debt financing, if available, may involve restrictive covenants and could reduce our operational flexibility or profitability. If we sell any securities in subsequent transactions, our current investors may be materially diluted. If we cannot raise funds on acceptable terms, we may not be able to grow our business or respond to competitive pressures. In addition, our ability to generate proceeds from equity financings will significantly depend on the market price of our Common Stock. For so long as the market price of our Common Stock is below the exercise price of our 17,250,000 warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share, which were issued in exchange for the 17,250,000 JCIC warrants originally issued as part of the units JCIC issued in the JCIC initial public offering (“Public Warrants”) and the 9,400,000 warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share, which were issued in exchange for 9,400,000 JCIC warrants (“Private Placement Warrants”) originally purchased in a private placement by JCIC Sponsor LLC, a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership (“JCIC Sponsor”) (collectively, the “Warrants”), our Warrants remain “out-of-the-money,” and our Warrant Holders are unlikely to cash exercise their Warrants, resulting in little or no cash proceeds to us. There can be no assurance that our Warrants will be in the money prior to their January 24, 2028 expiration date, and therefore, we may not receive any proceeds from the exercise of Warrants to fund our operations.
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We currently have a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 effective and an existing “at-the-market” offering program. However, SEC regulations limit the amount that companies with a public float of less than $75 million may raise during any 12-month period pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3. Under General Instruction I.B.6 to Form S-3 (the “Baby Shelf Rule”), the amount of funds a company can raise through primary public offerings of securities in any 12-month period using a registration statement on Form S-3 pursuant to the Baby Shelf Rule is limited to one-third of the aggregate market value of its shares of common stock held by non-affiliates of the company. To the extent the Baby Shelf Rule is or becomes applicable to us, we would be limited in the amount we can raise using a registration statement on Form S-3 and may incur additional costs and be subject to delays due to review by the SEC staff if we are required or choose to file a new registration statement on a form other than Form S-3.
In connection with the acquisition of the Spanish Scoopers by a subsidiary of MAB, we entered into a services agreement (the “MAB Services Agreement”) with such subsidiary that provides that, subject to the Company’s existing debt obligations, Bridger must apply the net cash proceeds from (i) 75% of the net cash proceeds of the issuance of equity securities in excess of $1.8 million, (ii) the net cash proceeds of the sale of equity interests, assets or properties other than in the ordinary course, (iii) the net cash proceeds of the incurrence of indebtedness in excess of $5 million, other than refinancing indebtedness and (iv) the net cash proceeds of any sale, sale leaseback or other fundamental corporate transaction, in each case, towards the purchase of the Spanish Scoopers and/or other payment obligations under the Agreement. As a result, our use of proceeds from additional funding will be restricted during the term of the MAB Services Agreement. Additionally, the MAB Services Agreement restricts us from acquiring, leasing or operating any new Super Scooper or other firefighting aircraft during the term of the Agreement, excluding the Super Scoopers and other firefighting aircraft currently owned or leased by us. The MAB Services Agreement also prohibits us from purchasing other equity interests, assets or properties with cash or cash equivalents during the term of the agreement. As a result, the MAB Services Agreement may preclude us from pursuing acquisition or expansion plans that we would have otherwise pursued and may limit our growth options and strategy, other than the acquisition and return to service of the Spanish Scoopers under the MAB Services Agreement.
Any acquisitions, partnerships or joint ventures that we enter into could disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. As part of growing our business, we have and may make acquisitions. If we fail to successfully select, execute or integrate our acquisitions, then our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected, and our stock price could decline.
From time to time, we may evaluate potential strategic acquisitions of businesses, including partnerships or joint ventures with third parties. We may not be successful in identifying acquisition, partnership and joint venture candidates. In addition, we may not be able to continue the operational success of such businesses or successfully finance or integrate any businesses that we acquire or with which we form a partnership or joint venture. We may have potential write-offs of acquired assets and/or an impairment of any goodwill recorded as a result of acquisitions. Furthermore, the integration of any acquisition may divert management’s time and resources from our core business and disrupt our operations or may result in conflicts with our business. Any acquisition, partnership or joint venture may not be successful, may reduce our cash reserves, may negatively affect our earnings and financial performance and, to the extent financed with the proceeds of debt, may increase our indebtedness. Further, depending on market conditions, investor perceptions of us and other factors, we might not be able to obtain financing on acceptable terms, or at all, to implement any such transaction. We cannot ensure that any acquisition, partnership or joint venture we make will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our systems, aircraft, technologies and services and related equipment may have shorter useful lives than we anticipate.
Our growth strategy depends in part on the acquisition and maintenance of additional assets, including Super Scoopers, Air Attack aircraft and airport hangars. A number of factors will impact the useful lives of our aircraft and facilities, including, among other things, the quality of their design and construction, the durability of their component parts and availability of any replacement components, and the occurrence of any anomaly or series of anomalies or other risks affecting the technology during firefighting and surveillance operations. In addition, any improvements in technology may make our existing aircraft, designs, or any component of our aircraft prior to the end of its life obsolete. If our systems, aircraft, facilities, technologies and related equipment have shorter useful lives than we currently anticipate, this may lead to higher costs, lower returns on capital, or customer price increases that could hinder our ability to obtain new business, any of which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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We have a substantial amount of debt and servicing future interest or principal payments may impair our ability to operate our business or require us to change our business strategy to accommodate the repayment of our debt. Our ability to operate our business is limited by certain agreements governing our debt, including restrictions on the use of the loan proceeds, operational and financial covenants and restrictions on additional indebtedness. If we are unable to comply with the financial covenants or other terms of our debt agreements, we may become subject to cross-default or cross-acceleration provisions that could result in our debt being declared immediately due and payable.
We completed municipal bond financings in July 2022 and August 2022 that raised gross proceeds in the aggregate of $160.0 million. As of December 31, 2024, we had $208.4 million of total debt outstanding. In connection with such bond financings, we have entered into various loan agreements, which contain certain financial covenants, that require, among other things, that we operate in a manner and to the extent permitted by applicable law, to produce sufficient gross revenues so as to be at all relevant times in compliance with the terms of such covenants, including that we maintain (i) beginning with the fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2023, a minimum debt service coverage ratio (“DSCR”) (generally calculated as the aggregate amount of our total gross revenues, minus operating expenses, plus interest, depreciation and amortization expense, for any period, over our maximum annual debt service requirements, as determined under such loan agreement) that exceeds 1.25x and (ii) beginning with the fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2022, a minimum liquidity of not less than $8.0 million in the form of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, plus liquid investments and unrestricted marketable securities at all times.
Subject to the terms of the loan agreements, in the event we are unable to comply with the terms of the financial covenants, we may be required (among other potential remedial actions) to engage an independent consultant to review, analyze and make recommendations with respect to our operations or in some instances, this could result in an event of default and/or the acceleration of our debt obligations under the loan agreements. In addition, the acceleration of our debt obligations may in some instances (as set forth in our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (our “Amended and Restated Charter”)) result in an increase in the dividend rate of the shares of Preferred Stock that have the rights, powers, designations, preferences and qualification, limitations and restrictions set forth in Section 4.5 of the Amended and Restated Charter (“Series A Preferred Stock”) of 2.00% per annum from the dividend rate otherwise in effect with respect to the Series A Preferred Stock.
The Company is in compliance with the DSCR covenant as of December 31, 2024 and management anticipates the Company will remain in compliance with the DSCR covenant at future quarterly measurement periods during the next 12 months. The Company is in compliance with the $8.0 million minimum liquidity requirement as of December 31, 2024. It is possible that the Company may not be in compliance with the minimum DSCR and liquidity requirements at future quarterly measurement periods in the next 12 months depending on the cash generated from its seasonal firefighting operations in 2025.
The agreements for the Gallatin municipal bond issuances by Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, LLC totaling $160.0 million of gross proceeds that closed in July and August 2022 (the “Series 2022 Bonds”) provide that, with regard to covenant violations, other than non-payment of principal or interest, no event of default shall be deemed to have occurred so long as a reasonable course of action to remedy a violation commences within 30 days of written notice of non-compliance from the trustee and management diligently prosecutes the remediation plan to completion.
As further described under the section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Indebtedness”, we have also entered into various term loan agreements and other long-term debt to fund the purchase of additional aircraft and finance the construction of aircraft hangars. Under the terms of such agreements, we are subject to certain financial covenants including, a DSCR, current assets to liabilities and senior leverage ratios requirements, respectively, under the agreements of our credit facilities with Citywide Banks (formerly known as Rocky Mountain Bank). The Company is in compliance with such financial covenants as of December 31, 2024. However, no assurance can be provided that we will be able to satisfy such financial covenants in future periods or that we will be able to obtain a waiver from our lenders in the event of non-compliance. A breach of any of these covenants or the occurrence of other events specified in the agreements or related debt documents could result in an event of default under the same and give rise to the lenders’ right to accelerate our debt obligations thereunder and pursue other remedial actions under our credit facilities and/or trigger a cross-default under our other debt agreements, including our Series 2022 Bonds.
Subject to the limits contained in some of the agreements governing our outstanding debt, we may incur additional debt in the future. Our maintenance of higher levels of indebtedness could have adverse consequences including impairing our ability to obtain additional debt and/or equity financing in the future.
Our level of debt places significant demands on our cash resources, which could:
•make it more difficult to satisfy our outstanding debt obligations;
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•require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash for payments related to our debt, reducing the amount of cash flow available for working capital, capital expenditures, entitlement of our real estate assets, contributions to our tax-qualified pension plan and other general corporate purposes;
•make it more difficult for us to satisfy certain financial tests and ratios under our loan or debt agreements, requiring us to seek waivers from lenders to not enforce their rights and remedies under the applicable agreements;
•limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in the industries in which we compete;
•place us at a competitive disadvantage with respect to our competitors, some of which have lower debt service obligations and greater financial resources than we do;
•limit our ability to borrow additional funds;
•limit our ability to expand our operations through acquisitions; and
•increase our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions if we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow to service our debt and fund our operating costs, our liquidity may be adversely affected.
There are no assurances that we will maintain a level of liquidity sufficient to permit us to pay the principal, premium and interest on our indebtedness. In addition to competitive conditions in the industry in which we operate, our financial condition and operating performance are also subject to prevailing economic conditions and certain financial, business and other factors beyond our control.
We do not expect to declare any dividends in the foreseeable future.
We intend to retain future earnings, if any, for future operations and expansion 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 (the “Board”). The Board 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 the Board may deem relevant. 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.
We may in the future invest significant resources in developing new offerings and exploring the application of our technologies for other uses and those opportunities may never materialize.
While our primary focus for the foreseeable future will be on our aerial firefighting services, we may invest significant resources in developing new technologies, services, products and offerings. However, we may not realize the expected benefits of these investments, and these anticipated technologies are unproven and these products or technologies may never materialize or be commercialized in a way that would allow us to generate ancillary revenue streams. Relatedly, if such technologies become viable offerings in the future, we may be subject to competition from our competitors.
Such research and development initiatives may also have a high degree of risk and involve unproven business strategies and technologies with which we have limited operating or development experience. They may involve claims and liabilities (including, but not limited to, personal injury claims), expenses, regulatory challenges and other risks that we may not be able to anticipate. There can be no assurance that consumer demand for such initiatives will exist or be sustained at the levels that we anticipate, or that any of these initiatives will gain sufficient traction or market acceptance to generate sufficient revenue to offset any new expenses or liabilities associated with these new investments. Further, any such research and development efforts could distract management from current operations and would divert capital and other resources from our more established offerings and technologies. Even if we were to be successful in developing new products, services, offerings or technologies, regulatory authorities may subject us to new rules or restrictions in response to our innovations that may increase our expenses or prevent us from successfully commercializing new products, services, offerings or technologies.
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Our variable interest entities (or “VIEs”) may subject us to potential conflicts of interest, and such arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership with respect to our relationships with the VIEs, which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to effectively control the VIEs and receive economic benefits from them.
We assisted in designing and organizing Northern Fire Management Services, LLC (“NFMS, LLC”) with a business purpose of employing Canadian aviation professionals to provide services to the Company. NFMS, LLC is 50% owned by a Canadian citizen, and 50% owned by Bridger Aerospace Group, LLC. We have a master services agreement with NFMS, LLC and Bridger Air Tanker, LLC, our wholly-owned subsidiary, to transfer all annual expenses incurred to us in exchange for the Canadian employees to support our water scooper aircraft.
On November 17, 2023, we entered into a series of agreements designed to facilitate the purchase and return to service of four Canadair CL-215T Amphibious Aircraft (the “Spanish Scoopers”) originally awarded to our wholly-owned subsidiary, Bridger Aerospace Europe, S.L.U. (“BAE”), in September 2023 via a public tender process from the Government of Spain for €40.3 million. Under the terms of the agreements, we agreed to sell the entire outstanding equity interest in BAE to MAB and purchase $4.0 million of non-voting Class B units of MAB.
We also entered into a services agreement with MAB whereby we will manage the return to service upgrades of the Spanish Scoopers through our wholly-owned Spanish subsidiary, Albacete Aero, S.L., while they are owned and funded by MAB. The service agreement also provides that we have the right, but not the obligation, to acquire each Spanish Scooper as it is ready to be contracted and returned to service. The Company assessed both MAB and BAE for variable interest entity accounting under ASC 810-10-15 and determined that MAB is a voting interest entity and BAE is a variable interest entity. However, neither entity is consolidated in the Consolidated Financial Statements as the Company does not have a controlling financial interest in MAB and the Company is not the primary beneficiary of BAE.
The contractual arrangements we have with the VIEs may not be as effective as direct ownership in respect of our relationship with the VIE. For example, the VIE and its shareholders could breach their contractual arrangements with us by, among other things, failing to conduct their operations in an acceptable manner or taking other actions that are detrimental to our interests. If we had direct ownership of the VIE, we would be able to exercise our rights as a shareholder to effect changes in the board of directors of the VIE, which in turn could implement changes, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations, at the management and operational level. However, under the agreements with our VIEs, we rely on the performance by the VIE and its shareholders of their obligations under the contracts to exercise control over the VIE. The shareholders of the consolidated VIE may not act in the best interests of our company or may not perform their obligations under these contracts. Such risks exist throughout the period in which we intend to operate certain portions of our business through the contractual arrangements with the VIE.
As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we are not aware of any conflicts between the shareholders of the VIE and us. However, the shareholders of the VIE may have actual or potential conflicts of interest with us in the future. These shareholders may refuse to sign or breach, or cause the VIE to breach, or refuse to renew, the existing contractual arrangements we have with them and the VIE, which would have a material adverse effect on our ability to effectively control the VIE and receive economic benefits from it. For example, the shareholders may be able to cause our agreements with the VIE to be performed in a manner adverse to us by, among other things, failing to remit payments due under the contractual arrangements to us on a timely basis. We cannot assure you that when conflicts of interest arise any or all of these shareholders will act in the best interests of our company or such conflicts will be resolved in our favor. Currently, we do not have any arrangements to address potential conflicts of interest between these shareholders and our company. If we cannot resolve any conflict of interest or dispute between us and these shareholders, we would have to rely on legal proceedings to enforce such arrangements, which could result in disruption of our business, require us to incur substantial costs and expend additional resources, and subject us to substantial uncertainty as to the outcome of any such legal proceedings.
Early-Stage Company Risks
We have incurred significant losses since inception, and we may not be able to achieve, maintain or increase profitability or positive cash flow.
We have incurred significant losses since inception. While we currently generate revenue from our aerial firefighting and MRO services, we are not currently profitable, and it is difficult for us to predict our future operating results. As a result, our losses may be larger than anticipated, and we may not be able to reach profitability in the foreseeable future. Further, our future growth is heavily dependent upon the necessity for our services.
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The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert our management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain additional executive management and qualified board members.
Prior to January 2023, we were not subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, or the listing requirements of Nasdaq. Compliance with these rules and regulations has increased, and will continue to increase, our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming, or costly, and increase demand on our systems and resources, particularly after we are no longer an emerging growth company. The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and operating results. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight have been and may in the future be required. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could adversely affect our business and operating results. We may need to hire more employees in the future or engage outside consultants, which would increase our costs and expenses.
In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs, and making some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve or otherwise change over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased selling, general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us, and our business may be adversely affected. As a public company, we have also had to incur increased expenses in order to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to maintain the same or similar coverage or obtain coverage in the future. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our Board, particularly to serve on our audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and governance committee and qualified executive officers.
As a result of disclosure of information in the filings required of a public company, our business and financial condition is more visible, which may result in threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors. If such claims are successful, our business and operating results could be adversely affected, and even if the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could divert the resources of our management and adversely affect our business and operating results. In addition, as a result of our disclosure obligations as a public company, we have reduced flexibility and are under pressure to focus on short-term results, which may adversely affect our ability to achieve long-term profitability.
If we do not develop and implement all required accounting practices and policies, we may be unable to provide the financial information required of a U.S. publicly traded company in a timely and reliable manner.
Prior to January 2023, we were a privately held company, and we were not required to adopt all of the financial reporting and disclosure procedures and controls required of a U.S. publicly traded company. The implementation of all required accounting practices and policies and the hiring of additional financial staff has increased and may continue to increase our operating costs and requires our management to devote significant time and resources to such implementation. If we fail to develop and maintain effective internal controls and procedures and disclosure procedures and controls, we may be unable to provide financial information and required SEC reports that are timely and reliable. Any such delays or deficiencies could harm us, including by limiting our ability to obtain financing, either in the public capital markets or from private sources and damaging our reputation, which in either cause could impede our ability to implement our growth strategy. In addition, any such delays or deficiencies could result in our failure to meet the requirements for continued listing of our Common Stock on Nasdaq.
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The Series 2022 Bonds were marketed on the basis of our compliance with certain green and social bond principles. We may not continue to satisfy such principles and we may be unable to market bonds under such principles in the future.
We have publicly advertised, and the Series 2022 Bonds were marketed on the basis of, our compliance with the core components of International Capital Market Association (“ICMA”) Green Bond Principles and Social Bond Principles. There is no assurance that the eligible projects to which we allocate proceeds from such Series 2022 Bonds will satisfy, or continue to satisfy, investor criteria and expectations regarding environmental impact and sustainability performance, and no assurance is given that the use or allocation will satisfy present or future investor expectations or requirements, voluntary taxonomies or standards regarding any investment criteria or guidelines with which investors or their investments are required to comply, whether by any present or future applicable laws or regulations, by their own governing rules or investment portfolio mandates, ratings criteria, voluntary taxonomies or standards or other independent expectations. As a result, there may be impacts of failing to satisfy bond conditions under the Series 2022 Bonds, and we may be unable to market future bonds, which may result in increased financing costs for us.
Pursuant to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for so long as we are an “emerging growth company.”
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, that company’s principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, and influenced by that company’s Board, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”).
Prior to January 2023, the Company was not required to evaluate our internal control over financial reporting in a manner that meets the standards of publicly traded companies required by Section 404(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We are now required to adhere to these SEC rules, which will require management to certify financial and other information in our quarterly and annual reports and provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting beginning for the year ending December 31, 2023. Additionally, once we are no longer an emerging growth company, if we are an “accelerated filer” or a “large accelerated filer” (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act), then we will be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. If we are unable to establish or maintain appropriate internal control over financial reporting or implement these additional requirements in a timely manner or with adequate compliance, it could result in material misstatements in our Consolidated Financial Statements, failure to meet our reporting obligations on a timely basis, increases in compliance costs, and subject us to adverse regulatory consequences, all of which may adversely affect investor confidence in, and the value of, our securities. Furthermore, if some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of the exemptions available us as an emerging growth company, there may be a less active trading market for our securities (assuming a market develops), and the trading price of our securities may be more volatile than that of an otherwise comparable company that does not avail itself of the same or similar exemptions.
We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, which we are in the process of, and are focused on, remediating. If we are unable to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results in a timely manner, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.
A material weakness is a deficiency or 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 have identified two material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, which we are in the process of, and are focused on, remediating. The material weaknesses are related to the accounting for complex transactions within our financial statement closing and reporting process, and maintaining and monitoring user access to certain IT systems contributing to our financial reporting.
While we remediated substantial parts of these pre-existing material weaknesses throughout the year, we concluded that we may be exposed to the risk of material misstatement in our financial reports by a deficiency in our precision of the review of the inputs provided by external technical accounting experts, as well as the assignment and monitoring of user access in some of our IT applications.
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We have already begun the process of, and are focused on, increasing the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and remediating the material weakness, including:
•improving the workflow for complex accounting transactions to include multiple levels of review and increase the time available to thoroughly evaluate the application of GAAP and improve the precision of review of assumptions made within third party accounting experts’ work product and
•hiring a Director of Technical Accounting and Reporting in December 2024 to augment and improve our review of third-party accounting advice.
•restricting privileged access in our general ledger and account reconciliation applications to ensure the strict enforcement of workflows following the four-eyes principle, and
•designing controls to closely monitor the way in which remaining privileged access to financially relevant IT applications is exercised by those who hold it.
While these ongoing and planned actions are subject to constant management evaluation and will require validation and testing of the design and operating effectiveness of internal controls over a sustained period of financial reporting cycles, we are committed to the improvement of our internal control over financial reporting and will continue to diligently review our internal control over financial reporting.
Although we plan to complete this remediation process as quickly as possible, we are unable, at this time, to estimate how long it will take, and our efforts may not be successful in remediating the identified material weaknesses. In addition, even if we are successful in strengthening our controls and procedures, we can give no assurances that in the future such controls and procedures will be adequate to prevent or identify errors or irregularities or to facilitate the fair preparation and presentation of our Consolidated Financial Statements. Any failure to design or maintain effective internal control over financial reporting or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement could increase compliance costs, negatively impact share trading prices, or otherwise harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations.
Risks Related to the Ownership of Our Securities
The price of our Common Stock and Warrants are likely to be highly volatile, and you may lose some or all of your investment.
The price of our Common Stock and Warrants may fluctuate significantly due to a number of factors, some of which may be beyond our control, including those factors discussed in this “Risk Factors” section and many others, such as:
•actual or anticipated fluctuations in our financial condition and operating results, including fluctuations in our quarterly and annual results;
•developments involving our competitors;
•changes in laws and regulations affecting our business;
•variations in our operating performance and the performance of our competitors in general;
•the public’s reaction to our press releases, our other public announcements and our filings with the SEC;
•additions and departures of key personnel;
•announcements of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments by us or our competitors;
•our failure to meet the estimates and projections of the investment community or that we may otherwise provide to the public;
•publication of research reports about us or our industry, or positive or negative recommendations or withdrawal of research coverage by securities analysts;
•changes in the market valuations of similar companies;
•overall performance of the equity markets;
•sales of our Common Stock and Warrants by us or our stockholders in the future;
•trading volume of our Common Stock and Warrants;
•significant lawsuits, including shareholder litigation;
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•failure to comply with the requirements of Nasdaq;
•the impact of any natural disasters or public health emergencies;
•general economic, industry and market conditions other events or factors, many of which are beyond our control; and
•changes in accounting standards, policies, guidelines, interpretations or principles.
These market and industry factors may materially reduce the market price of our Common Stock and our Warrants regardless of our operating performance.
Our Common Stock is subject to restrictions on ownership by non-U.S. citizens, which could require divestiture by non-U.S. citizen stockholders and could have a negative impact on the transferability of our Common Stock, its liquidity and market value and such restrictions may deter a potential change of control transaction.
Under our Amended and Restated Charter and our Amended and Restated Bylaws, we have limited the ownership of non-U.S. citizens to 24.9% of the aggregate votes of all outstanding equity securities of our company or 49.0% of the aggregate number of outstanding equity securities in compliance with the regulations set forth by the FAA and the DOT. As a result, if we approach these limits, non-U.S. citizen demand for our equity securities may be reduced, and the price of our Common Stock may suffer.
We may issue additional shares of our Common Stock or other equity securities, which would dilute your ownership interest in us and may depress the market price of our Common Stock.
We may issue additional shares of our Common Stock or other equity securities in the future in connection with, among other things, future acquisitions, repayment of outstanding indebtedness or grants under our Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. 2023 Omnibus Incentive Plan and the Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. 2023 Employee Stock Purchase Plan without stockholder approval in a number of circumstances. Our issuance of additional shares of our Common Stock or other equity securities could have one or more of the following effects:
•our existing stockholders’ proportionate ownership interest in us will decrease;
•the amount of cash available per share, including for payment of dividends in the future, may decrease;
•the relative voting strength of each previously outstanding share of our Common Stock may be diminished; and
•the market price of our Common Stock may decline.
We are an “emerging growth company” and a “smaller reporting company” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to “emerging growth companies” or “smaller reporting companies,” this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and 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 could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Common Stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700.0 million as of the end of any second quarter of a fiscal year, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the last day of such fiscal year. We cannot predict whether investors will 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 registration statement under the Securities Act 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 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 that is not an “emerging growth company” or is 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.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (i) the market value of our Common Stock held by non-affiliates is greater than or equal to $250.0 million as of the end of that fiscal year’s second fiscal quarter and (ii) our annual revenues are greater than or equal to $100.0 million during the last completed fiscal year or the market value of our Common Stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700.0 million as of the end of that fiscal year’s second fiscal quarter. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
Provisions in our Amended and Restated Charter, our Amended and Restated Bylaws and Delaware law could discourage a takeover that stockholders may consider favorable which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Common Stock and may lead to entrenchment of management.
Our Amended and Restated Charter and our Amended and Restated Bylaws contain provisions that could significantly reduce the value of our securities to a potential acquiror or delay or prevent changes in control or changes in our management without the consent of the Board. Such provisions may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. Our organizational documents include the following:
•a classified Board with three-year staggered terms, which may delay the ability of stockholders to change the membership of a majority of the Board;
•no cumulative voting in the election of directors, which limits the ability of minority stockholders to elect director candidates;
•the exclusive right of the Board, unless the Board grants such a right to the holders of any series of preferred stock, to elect a director to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of the Board or the resignation, death or removal of a director, which prevents stockholders from being able to fill vacancies on the Board;
•the prohibition on removal of directors without cause;
•the ability of the Board to authorize the issuance of shares of preferred stock and to determine the price and other terms of those shares, including preferences and voting rights, without stockholder approval, which could be used to significantly dilute the ownership of a hostile acquiror;
•the ability of the Board to alter our Amended and Restated Bylaws without obtaining stockholder approval;
•the required approval of at least 66-2/3% of the shares of our Common Stock entitled to vote to amend or repeal our Amended and Restated Bylaws or amend, alter or repeal certain provisions of our Amended and Restated Charter;
•a prohibition on stockholder action by written consent, which forces stockholder action to be taken at an annual or special meeting of our stockholders;
•an exclusive forum provision providing that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for certain actions and proceedings;
•the requirement that a special meeting of stockholders may be called only by the Board, the chair of the Board, the chief executive officer or the president, which may delay the ability of our stockholders to force consideration of a proposal or to take action, including the removal of directors; and
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•advance notice procedures that stockholders must comply with in order to nominate candidates to the Board or to propose matters to be acted upon at a stockholders’ meeting, which may discourage or deter a potential acquiror from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquiror’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of the company.
We are not subject to the anti-takeover provisions contained in Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. However, we may not engage in a business combination with any holder of 15% or more of our capital stock unless the holder has held the stock for three years or, among other exceptions, the Board has approved the transaction.
Individually and collectively, these anti-takeover defenses could discourage, delay, or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of the Company. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and other stockholders to elect directors of your choosing and cause the Company to take corporate actions other than those you desire.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to comply with the continued listing standards of Nasdaq. Nasdaq 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.
Our Common Stock and the Public Warrants are listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “BAER” and “BAERW,” respectively. We are required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant adverse consequences, including:
•a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;
•reduced liquidity for our securities;
•a determination that our Common Stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Common Stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;
•a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and
•a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because our Common Stock and Public Warrants are listed on Nasdaq, our Common Stock and Public Warrants qualify as covered securities. Although states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud. If there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
The holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock have rights, preferences and privileges that are not held by, and are preferential to, the rights of holders of our Common Stock. We may be required, under certain circumstances, to repurchase the outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock for cash, and such obligations could adversely affect our liquidity and financial condition.
The Company currently has 315,789.473684 shares of Series A Preferred Stock that are issued and outstanding. The Series A Preferred Stock is convertible non-participating preferred stock, with a conversion price of $11.00 per share and accrues dividends at a rate of 7.0% per annum (payable in cash or in-kind, subject to specified limitations) to but excluding April 25, 2028, 9.0% per annum from (and including) April 25, 2028 to but excluding April 25, 2029 and 11.00% per annum from (and including) April 25, 2029.
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In addition, under the terms of the Series A Preferred Stock, we may, at our option, redeem all or any portion of the outstanding shares of Preferred Stock under certain circumstances any time after April 25, 2027, and we must redeem the shares by on or before April 25, 2032. Upon certain fundamental changes to us and our ownership structure, the holders of Series A Preferred Stock may require us to redeem their shares of Series A Preferred Stock. The redemption price is generally equal to original purchase price of the Series A Preferred Stock plus all accrued and unpaid dividends thereon, and in certain circumstances, also includes a “make-whole” payment. Our obligations to the holders of Preferred Stock could also limit our ability to obtain additional financing or increase our borrowing costs, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition. The preferential rights could also result in divergent interests between the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock and our common stockholders. If we elect to redeem all or a portion of the Series A Preferred Stock, our liquidity, financial condition and amount of cash available for working capital, capital expenditures, growth opportunities, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes would be adversely affected.
The Series A Preferred Stock may be converted at any time at the option of the holder into shares of our Common Stock. The conversion price of the Series A Preferred Stock is subject to customary anti-dilution adjustments, including in the event of any stock split, stock dividend, recapitalization or similar event. Adjustments to the conversion price could dilute the ownership interest of our common stockholders. Any conversion of the Series A Preferred Stock may significantly dilute our common stockholders and adversely affect both our net income per share and the market price of our common stock.
The holders of Series A Preferred Stock have consent rights over the issuance of any equity securities senior or pari passu with the Series A Preferred Stock; any amendments to our Amended and Restated Charter that would adversely affect the rights, preferences or privileges of the Series A Preferred Stock; payment of dividends; mergers, consolidations, or a sale of substantially all of our assets and liquidations, dissolutions and winding up, in certain cases, unless we satisfy certain conditions. Otherwise, holders of the Series A Preferred Stock have no voting rights with respect to the election of directors or other matters submitted for a vote of holders of our Common Stock.
A small number of Bridger’s stockholders could significantly influence its business.
As of December 31, 2024, the directors and executive officers beneficially owned 8.9% of the outstanding Common Stock. In addition, former directors and officers hold an additional 36.1% of the outstanding Common Stock. In addition, the equityholders of Bridger that are affiliates of Blackstone Inc. collectively beneficially owned 17.3% of the outstanding Common Stock as of December 31, 2024. As a result, Bridger has a small number of significant stockholders who could significantly influence its business and operations.
As indicated above, Bridger has a few significant stockholders who own a substantial percentage of the outstanding Common Stock. These few significant stockholders, either individually or acting together, are able to exercise significant influence over matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions, such as a merger or other sale of Bridger or its assets. This concentration of ownership may make it more difficult for other stockholders to effect substantial changes in Bridger, may have the effect of delaying, preventing or expediting, as the case may be, a change in control of Bridger and may adversely affect the market price of our Common Stock. Further, the possibility that one or more of these significant stockholders may sell all or a large portion of their Common Stock in a short period of time could adversely affect the trading price of our Common Stock. The interests of these significant stockholders may not be in the best interests of all stockholders.
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If our estimates or judgments relating to our critical accounting policies prove to be incorrect or financial reporting standards change, our results of operations could be adversely affected.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP, requires management to make assumptions and estimates that affect the amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of gain or loss contingencies as of the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. We will base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events, and various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, as provided in the section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates.” The results of these estimates form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include: (a) excess and aging aircraft support parts reserves, (b) allowance for doubtful accounts, (c) useful lives of property, plant and equipment, net, (d) allocation of the purchase price to the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, (e) impairment of long-lived assets, goodwill and other intangible assets, (f) disclosure of fair value of financial instruments, (g) variable interest entities, (h) accounting for Series A Preferred Stock, (i) revenue recognition, (j) estimates and assumptions made in determining the carrying values of goodwill, other intangible assets and contingent consideration and (k) Warrants. Our results of operations may be adversely affected if our assumptions change or if actual circumstances differ from those in our assumptions, which could cause our results of operations to fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in the trading price of our Common Stock.
Additionally, we will regularly monitor our compliance with applicable financial reporting standards and review new pronouncements and drafts thereof that are relevant to us. As a result of new standards and changes to existing standards we might be required to change our accounting policies, alter our operational policies and implement new or enhance existing systems so that they reflect new or amended financial reporting standards, or we may be required to restate our published financial statements. Such changes to existing standards or changes in their interpretation may have an adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial position and profit.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about us or publish negative reports, then the price of our securities and trading volumes could decline.
The trading market for our Common Stock and Warrants will depend, in part, on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us. We do not have any control over these analysts. If our financial performance fails to meet analyst estimates or one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our Common Stock or change their opinion, then the trading prices of our securities would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause the trading prices of our securities or trading volume to decline.
We do not currently intend to pay dividends on our Common Stock, and, consequently, your ability to achieve a return
on your investment will depend on appreciation, if any, in the price of our Common Stock.
We have never declared or paid any cash dividend on our Common Stock. We currently anticipate that we will retain future earnings for the development, operation and expansion of the business and do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Any return to stockholders will therefore be limited to the appreciation of their stock. There is no guarantee that shares of our Common Stock will appreciate in value or even maintain the price at which stockholders have purchased their shares.
Volatility in our share price could subject us to securities class action litigation.
In the past, securities class action litigation has often been brought against a company following a decline in the market price of its securities. If we face such litigation, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could harm our business.
Future sales, or the perception of future sales, of a substantial number of shares of our Common Stock and Warrants, by us or our stockholders in the public market may cause the price of our Common Stock and Warrants to decline.
If we or our existing stockholders sell, or indicate an intention to sell, substantial amounts of shares of our Common Stock or Warrants in the public market, the trading price of our Common Stock or Warrants could decline. In addition, the perception that such sales could occur, could harm the prevailing market price of shares of our Common Stock or Warrants. 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 and to raise additional funds through future offerings of our shares of Common Stock or other securities.
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Warrants are exercisable for our Common Stock and if exercised will increase the number of shares eligible for future resale in the public market and result in dilution to our stockholders.
Outstanding Warrants to purchase an aggregate of 26,649,874 shares of our Common Stock became exercisable in accordance with the terms of the Warrant Agreement (as defined below) governing those securities. These Warrants became exercisable commencing on February 23, 2023. The exercise price of these Warrants is $11.50 per share, subject to certain potential future adjustments. To the extent such Warrants are exercised, additional shares of our Common Stock will be issued, which will result in dilution to our holders and increase the number of shares eligible for resale in the public market. Sales of substantial numbers of such shares in the public market or the fact that the Warrants may be exercised could adversely affect the market price of our Common Stock. The price of our Common Stock may remain below $11.50 until expiration of the Warrant exercise period and as such, the Warrants may expire worthless. See the section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K entitled “Risk Factors—The price of our Common Stock may remain below $11.50 until expiration of the Warrant exercise period, and the Warrants may expire worthless and the terms of the Warrants may be amended in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 65% of (i) the then-outstanding Public Warrants and/or (ii) the then-outstanding Private Placement Warrants, as applicable, approve of such amendment.”
The price of our Common Stock may remain below $11.50 until expiration of the Warrant exercise period, and the Warrants may expire worthless and the terms of the Warrants may be amended in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 65% of (i) the then-outstanding Public Warrants and/or (ii) the then-outstanding Private Placement Warrants, as applicable, approve of such amendment.
As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the exercise price for our Warrants is $11.50 per share of Common Stock. On March 10, 2025, the closing price of our Common Stock on Nasdaq was $1.77 per share. For so long as the market price of our Common Stock is below the exercise price of our Warrants ($11.50 per share), our Warrants remain “out-of-the money,” and our Warrant Holders are unlikely to cash exercise their Warrants, resulting in little or no cash proceeds to us. There can be no assurance that our Warrants will be in the money prior to their January 24, 2028 expiration date, and therefore, we may not receive any proceeds from the exercise of Warrants to fund our operations.
In addition, the Warrants were issued in registered form under the Warrant Agreement, dated January 26, 2021, by and between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as Warrant Agent, and JCIC, which was assumed by the Company by virtue of the Warrant Assumption Agreement, dated January 24, 2023, the Company (such agreement, as assumed, the “Warrant Agreement”). The Warrant Agreement provides that the terms of the 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 other change that affects the interests of the registered holders of 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 Warrants, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our Common Stock purchasable upon exercise of a Warrant.
We may redeem your unexpired Warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your Warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem the outstanding Warrants at any time and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant if, among other things, the last reported sale price of our Common Stock for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders (the “Reference Value”) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like). If and when the Warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the Warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the Warrants. Redemption of the outstanding Warrants as described above could force you to: (i) exercise your Warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so; (ii) sell your Warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your Warrants; or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding Warrants are called for redemption, we expect would be substantially less than the market value of your Warrants.
In addition, we have the ability to redeem the outstanding Warrants at any time and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per Warrant if, among other things, the Reference Value equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganization, recapitalizations and the like). In such case, the holders will be able to exercise their Warrants prior to the redemption for a number of shares of our Common Stock determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Common Stock.
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We have no obligation to notify holders of the Warrants that they have become eligible for redemption. However, pursuant to the Warrant Agreement, in the event we decide to redeem the Warrants, we are required to mail notice of such redemption to the registered warrant holders not less than 30 days prior to the redemption date. The Warrants may be exercised any time after notice of redemption is given and prior to the redemption date. None of the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by JCIC Sponsor or its permitted transferees; provided the Private Placement Warrants may be redeemed in accordance with the Warrant Agreement (and must be redeemed if the Public Warrants are being redeemed) if the Reference Value equals or exceeds $10.00 per share and does not equal or exceed $18.00 per share.
The exclusive forum clause set forth in the Warrant Agreement may have the effect of limiting an investor’s rights to bring legal action against us and could limit the investor’s ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us.
The Warrant Agreement provides that (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the Warrant Agreement will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and (ii) we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction will be exclusive. We have waived or will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum. We note, however, that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce these provisions and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for state and federal courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the Warrant Agreement will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of the Warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in the Warrant Agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope of the forum provisions of the Warrant Agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of the Warrants such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located within the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”) and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.
This choice-of-forum provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of the Warrant Agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and Board.
General Risk Factors
Net earnings and net assets could be materially affected by an impairment of goodwill.
We have, or in the future may have, a significant amount of goodwill recorded on our consolidated balance sheet. We test goodwill for impairment at least annually at each reporting unit, which comprise our operating segment. The impairment test of goodwill is based on the current fair value of our identified reporting units. Fair value measurement requires assumptions and estimates of many critical factors, including revenue and market growth, operating cash flows and discount rates. If general market conditions deteriorate in portions of our business, we could experience a significant decline in the fair value of reporting units. This decline could lead to an impairment of all or a significant portion of the goodwill balance, which could materially affect our GAAP net earnings and net assets.
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Changes in tax laws or regulations may increase tax uncertainty and adversely affect results of our operations and our effective tax rate.
The Company is subject to taxes in the United States and certain foreign jurisdictions. Due to economic and political conditions, tax rates in various jurisdictions, including the United States, may be subject to change. The Company’s future effective tax rates could be affected by changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities and changes in tax laws or their interpretation. In addition, the Company may be or become subject to income tax audits by various tax jurisdictions. For example, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which was recently enacted, imposed a 1% excise tax on certain share repurchases by publicly traded corporations, which may apply to share repurchases by the Company in the future, and imposed a 15% minimum tax on certain large corporations. Although the Company believes its income tax liabilities are reasonably estimated and accounted for in accordance with applicable laws and principles, an adverse resolution by one or more taxing authorities could have a material impact on the results of its operations.
Certain U.S. state tax authorities may assert that we have a state nexus and seek to impose state and local income taxes which could harm our results of operations.
There is a risk that certain state tax authorities where we do not currently file a state income tax return could assert that we are liable for state and local income taxes based upon income or gross receipts allocable to such states. States are becoming increasingly aggressive in asserting a nexus for state income tax purposes. If a state tax authority successfully asserts that our activities give rise to a nexus, we could be subject to state and local taxation, including penalties and interest attributable to prior periods. Such tax assessments, penalties and interest may adversely impact our results of operations.
Our Amended and Restated Charter requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware, which may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders.
Our Amended and Restated Charter provides that, unless a majority of the Board, acting on behalf of Bridger, consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum (which consent may be given at any time, including during the pendency of litigation), the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, another state court located within the State of Delaware or, if no court located within the State of Delaware has jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware), to the fullest extent permitted by law, shall be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Corporation, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any current or former director, officer or other employee of the Corporation to the Corporation or the Corporation’s stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against the Corporation or any of its directors, officers or other employees arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”), our Amended and Restated Charter or our Amended and Restated Bylaws (in each case, as may be amended from time to time), (iv) any action asserting a claim against the Corporation or any of its directors, officers or other employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine of the State of Delaware or (v) any other action asserting an “internal corporate claim,” as defined in Section 115 of the DGCL, in all cases subject to the court’s having personal jurisdiction over all indispensable parties named as defendants. Unless a majority of the Board, acting on behalf of the Corporation, consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum (which consent may be given at any time, including during the pendency of litigation), the federal district courts of the United States of America, to the fullest extent permitted by law, shall be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any action asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act.
We believe these provisions may benefit us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law and federal securities laws by chancellors and judges, as applicable, particularly experienced in resolving corporate disputes, efficient administration of cases on a more expedited schedule relative to other forums and protection against the burdens of multi-forum litigation. Alternatively, if a court were to find these provisions of our Amended and Restated Charter inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and Board. For example, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Accordingly, there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such a forum selection provision as written in connection with claims arising under the Securities Act.
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We may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Factors outside of our control may, at any time, arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in reporting losses. Unexpected risks may arise, and previously known risks may materialize. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and therefore not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, we must report charges of this nature which could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to be unable to obtain future financing on favorable terms or at all.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.
None.
ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY.
Risk Management and Strategy
•risk assessments;
•incident detection and response;
•vulnerability management;
•internal controls within our IT, Security and other departments;
•network security controls;
•access controls;
•physical security;
•asset management;
•system monitoring;
•employee cybersecurity awareness and training;
•phishing tests;
•the use of the internet, social media, email and wireless devices;
•firewalls and intrusion prevention systems;
•endpoint detection and response systems; and
•anti-malware functionality.
As part of this process, we engaged external consultants who assessed our internal cybersecurity programs and alignment with applicable practices and standards, such as the Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission framework. We have also retained external service providers to monitor identified risk exposures, provide ongoing recommendations and software tools for their detection and mitigation, as well as evaluating the impact and coordinating the recovery from any incidents or breaches, should they occur.
Governance
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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.
At December 31, 2024, we owned approximately 152,000 square feet of floor space and leased approximately 3,000 square feet of floor space for total square feet of floor space of approximately 155,000 at three separate locations, primarily in the U.S., for operations, administration and various other uses. We own three hangars domestically and one hangar internationally. At December 31, 2024, we also leased approximately eleven acres of land domestically and one acre of land internationally. We have major operations at the following locations:
Corporate Headquarters: Belgrade, Montana
International Operations: Albacete, Spain
Other Locations: Huntsville, Alabama
We believe that our existing properties are in good operating condition and suitable for conducting our business.
Refer to “Note 16 – Leases” to the Consolidated Financial Statements contained within this Annual Report for information regarding commitments under leases.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
Information with respect to this item may be found in “Note 17 – Commitments and Contingencies” to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in “Part II - Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, under the caption “Legal Matters” which information is incorporated herein by reference.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.
Not applicable.
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PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.
Market Information
Our Common Stock and Warrants are listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbols “BAER” and “BAERW,” respectively.
Holders
As of March 10, 2025, there were 23 stockholders of record of our Common Stock and 2 stockholders of record of our Warrants. This figure does not include an estimate of the indeterminate number of “street name” or beneficial holders whose shares may be held of record by brokerage firms and clearing agencies.
Dividend Policy
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our Common Stock, Series A Preferred Stock or the Warrants to date. Any determination to pay cash dividends or to institute a dividend policy will be at the discretion of the Board and will depend upon a number of factors, including the Company’s results of operations, financial condition, future prospects, contractual restrictions, covenants in the agreements governing current and future indebtedness, industry trends, restrictions imposed by applicable law and other factors the Board deems relevant. We currently intend to retain any future earnings for the development, operation and expansion of the business, and we do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends on our Common Stock for the foreseeable future.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, our holders of the Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to receive dividends to be paid by us twice a year, in cash or, at our election, by increasing the per share liquidation preference for such shares of Series A Preferred Stock (such liquidation preference is equal to the initial issuance price plus all accrued and unpaid dividends, whether or not declared). The dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock accrue daily and are computed on the basis of a 365-day year, at a compounding rate initially anticipated to be 7.00% per annum. Such rate will increase to 9.00% per annum for the period from (and including) April 25, 2028 to (but excluding) April 25, 2029 and eventually will increase to 11.00% per annum from and after April 25, 2029 and subject to further increase upon the occurrence of certain events. No dividends shall be paid or payable to any other holders of our capital stock unless and until the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock have received cumulative distributions equal to the aggregate liquidation preference of the Series A Preferred Stock.
Performance Graph
Not applicable.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
None.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
None.
ITEM 6. [RESERVED]
Not applicable.
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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
The following discussion and analysis is intended to help you understand our business, financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and capital resources. The discussion should be read together with the historical audited annual Consolidated Financial Statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, and the related notes thereto, that are included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements based upon our current expectations, estimates and projections that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements due to, among other considerations, the matters discussed in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
BUSINESS OVERVIEW
Bridger provides aerial wildfire surveillance, relief and suppression and aerial firefighting services using next-generation technology and environmentally friendly and sustainable firefighting methods primarily throughout the United States, as well as airframe modification and integration solutions for governmental and commercial customers. Our mission is to save lives, property and habitats threatened by wildfires, leveraging our high-quality team, specialized aircraft and innovative use of technology and data. We are meeting an underserved and growing need for next-generation full-service aerial firefighting platforms.
Our portfolio is organized across three core offerings:
Fire Suppression: Consists of deploying specialized Viking CL-415EAF (“Super Scooper”) aircraft to drop large amounts of water quickly and directly on wildfires.
Aerial Surveillance: Consists of providing aerial surveillance via manned (“Air Attack”) aircraft for fire suppression aircraft over an incident and providing tactical coordination with the incident commander.
Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (“MRO”): Consists of maintenance and repair services for return-to-service upgrades of certain Canadair CL-215T Amphibious (“Spanish Scoopers”) aircraft as well as airframe modification and integration solutions for governmental and commercial customers.
We manage our operations as a single segment for purposes of assessing performance, making operating decisions and allocating resources.
We have made and will continue to make significant investments in capital expenditures to build and expand our integrated response solutions. We expect that our existing cash and cash equivalents as well as cash generated from our operations will be sufficient to meet our current working capital and capital expenditure requirements for a period of at least 12 months from the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Refer to the Liquidity and Capital Resources section below and “Note 1 – Organization and Basis of Presentation” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details on management’s assessment of the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.
The Reverse Recapitalization
On January 24, 2023 (the “Closing Date”), Jack Creek Investment Corp. (“JCIC”) completed the reverse recapitalization (the “Closing” and the “Reverse Recapitalization”) with the Company’s predecessor, Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, LLC and its subsidiaries (collectively, “Legacy Bridger”). As a result of the Reverse Recapitalization, JCIC and Legacy Bridger each became wholly-owned subsidiaries of a new public company that was renamed Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. and JCIC shareholders and Legacy Bridger equity holders converted their equity ownership in JCIC and Legacy Bridger, respectively, into equity ownership in Bridger. Legacy Bridger was determined to be the accounting acquirer as of the Closing Date with respect to the Reverse Recapitalization, which has been accounted for as a reverse recapitalization, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded, in accordance with GAAP.
Upon consummation of the Reverse Recapitalization, the most significant change in Legacy Bridger’s future reported financial position and results of operations was a gross decrease in cash and cash equivalents (as compared to Legacy Bridger’s balance sheet at December 31, 2022), of approximately $17.0 million. Total direct and incremental transaction costs of Bridger, JCIC and Legacy Bridger paid at the closing of the Reverse Recapitalization on January 24, 2023 (the “Closing”) were approximately $16.6 million and have been treated as a reduction of the cash proceeds and deducted from our additional paid-in capital.
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KEY FACTORS AFFECTING OUR RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
We are exposed to certain risks inherent to an aerial firefighting business. These risks are further described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Seasonality Due to the North American Fire Season
Our operating results are impacted by seasonality. Climate conditions and other factors that may influence the revenues of our services may vary each season and year. Historically, the demand for our services has been higher in the second and third quarters of each fiscal year due to the timing and duration of the North American fire season. Consequently, revenues, expenses and operating cash flows from our services are generated mostly in the second and third quarters of our fiscal year. However, the seasonal fluctuations in the need to fight wildfires based upon location and the varying intensity of the fire season have and may continue to lead our operating results to fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year.
Weather Conditions and Climate Trends
Our business is highly dependent on the needs of government agencies to surveil and suppress fires. As such, our financial condition and results of operations are significantly affected by the weather, as well as environmental and other factors affecting climate change, which impact the number and severity of fires in any given period. The intensity and duration of the North American fire season is affected by multiple factors, some of which, according to a 2023 article by Climate Central, a nonprofit climate science news organization, are weather patterns including warmer springs and longer summers, decreasing relative humidity which lead to drier soils and vegetation and frequency of lightning strikes. Based on the climate change indicators published by the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), these factors have shown year over year increases linked to the effects of climate change and the overall trend in increased temperatures. We believe that rising global temperatures have been, and in the future are expected to be, one factor contributing to increasing rates and severity of wildfires. Historically, our revenue has been higher in the summer season of each fiscal year due to weather patterns which are generally correlated to a higher prevalence of wildfires in North America. Larger wildfires and longer seasons are expected to continue as droughts increase in frequency and duration, according to a 2024 article by the EPA.
Per the 2024 National Centers for Environmental Information annual report, approximately 8.8 million acres of U.S. land burned in 2024, 25.7% above the 2001-2020 annual average and the total number of wildfires during 2024 was approximately 90.0% of the 2001-2020 annual average with approximately 61,000 wildfires reported. Additionally, according to data from the National Interagency Coordination Center, the national wildland fire preparedness level reached Level 5 in 2024 and Level 4 in 2023.
Limited Supply of Specialized Aircraft and Replacement and Maintenance Parts
Our results of operations are dependent on sufficient availability of aircraft, raw materials and supplied components provided by a limited number of suppliers. Our reliance on limited suppliers exposes us to volatility in the prices and availability of these materials which may lead to increased costs and delays in operations.
Economic and Market Factors
Our operations, supply chain, partners and suppliers are subject to various global macroeconomic factors. We expect to continue to remain vulnerable to a number of industry-specific and global macroeconomic factors that may cause our actual results of operations to differ from our historical results of operations or current expectations. The factors and trends that we currently believe are or will be most impactful to our results of operations and financial condition include, but are not limited to, the impact on us of significant operational challenges by third parties on which we rely, inflationary pressures, short-term and long-term weather patterns, potential labor and supply chain shortages affecting us and our partners, volatile fuel prices, aircraft delivery delays and changes in general economic conditions in the markets in which we operate.
Historically, our results of operations have not been materially impacted by other factors. We continue to monitor the potential favorable or unfavorable impacts of these and other factors on our business, operations, financial condition and future results of operations, which are dependent on future developments. Our future results of operations may be subject to volatility and our growth plans may be delayed, particularly in the short term, due to the impact of the above factors and trends. However, we believe that our long-term outlook remains positive due to the increasing demand for our services and our ability to meet those demands consistently, despite adverse market factors. We believe that this expected long-term increase in demand will offset increased costs and that the operational challenges we may experience in the near term can be managed in a manner that will allow us to support increased demand, though we cannot provide any assurances.
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KEY COMPONENTS OF OUR RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Revenues
Our primary source of revenues is from providing services, which are disaggregated into fire suppression, aerial surveillance, MRO and other services. Revenues and growth for our fire suppression and aerial surveillance services are driven by climate trends, specifically the intensity and timing of the North American fire season. MRO includes revenue from return-to-service and maintenance and repair services performed externally for third parties. Other services primarily consist of extraneous fulfillment of contractual services such as extended availability and mobilizations.
Cost of Revenues
Cost of revenues includes costs incurred directly related to flight operations including expenses associated with operating the aircraft on revenue generating contracts. These include labor, depreciation, fees, travel and fuel. Cost of revenues also includes routine aircraft maintenance expenses and repairs, including maintenance and modification repair work for third-party aircraft, consisting primarily of labor, parts, consumables and travel unique to each airframe.
Selling, General and Administrative Expense
Selling, general and administrative expenses include all costs that are not directly related to satisfaction of customer contracts. Selling, general and administrative expenses include costs for our administrative functions, such as finance, legal, human resources, and IT support, and business development costs that include contract procurement, public relations and business opportunity advancement. These functions include costs for items such as salaries, benefits, stock-based compensation and other personnel-related costs, maintenance and supplies, professional fees for external legal, accounting, and other consulting services, insurance, intangible asset amortization and depreciation expense. Selling, general and administrative expenses also include gains or losses on the disposal of fixed assets.
Interest Expense
Interest expense consists of interest costs related to our Gallatin municipal bond issuances by Legacy Bridger that closed in July and August 2022 (the “Series 2022 Bonds”), our permanent and term loan agreements and the net effect of our interest rate swap. Interest expense also includes amortization of debt issuance costs associated with our loan agreements. Refer to “Liquidity and Capital Resources—Indebtedness” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of our loan commitments.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Comparison of the Year Ended December 31, 2024 to the Year Ended December 31, 2023
The following table sets forth our Consolidated Statements of Operations information for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023.
| For the years ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | 2024 | 2023 | Period Over Period Change ($) | Period Over Period Change (%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 98,613 | $ | 66,708 | $ | 31,905 | 48% | |||||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Flight operations | 31,016 | 24,412 | 6,604 | 27% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maintenance | 26,459 | 16,928 | 9,531 | 56% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total cost of revenues | 57,475 | 41,340 | 16,135 | 39% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gross income | 41,138 | 25,368 | 15,770 | 62% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expense | 35,820 | 82,863 | (47,043) | (57%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating income (loss) | 5,318 | (57,495) | 62,813 | (109)% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (23,714) | (23,218) | (496) | 2% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other income | 2,067 | 3,053 | (986) | (32)% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (16,329) | (77,660) | 61,331 | (79)% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Income tax benefit | 762 | 302 | 460 | 152% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (15,567) | $ | (77,358) | $ | 61,791 | (80%) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Revenues
Revenue increased by $31.9 million, or 48%, to $98.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, from $66.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Revenues by service offering for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 were as follows:
| For the years ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | 2024 | 2023 | Period Over Period Change ($) | Period Over Period Change (%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fire suppression | $ | 66,765 | $ | 56,022 | $ | 10,743 | 19% | |||||||||||||||||||
| Aerial surveillance | 13,062 | 9,730 | 3,332 | 34% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| MRO | 13,918 | 48 | 13,870 | 28,896% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other services | 4,868 | 908 | 3,960 | 436% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total revenues | $ | 98,613 | $ | 66,708 | $ | 31,905 | 48% | |||||||||||||||||||
Fire suppression revenue increased by $10.7 million, or 19%, to $66.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, from $56.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was partially driven by increased flight hours for our Super Scoopers in the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 resulting from a more intense U.S. wildfire season. The increase was also partially due to an earlier start to the 2024 wildfire season in March and April of 2024 for our Super Scoopers for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. In 2023, the Company actively expanded our aerial firefighting operations in Canada. The Company had no aerial firefighting operations in Canada in 2024. The increase in fire suppression revenue accounted for 34% of the total increase in revenues for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Aerial surveillance revenue increased by $3.3 million, or 34%, to $13.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, from $9.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was primarily driven by the higher rate of the Pilatus PC-12 (“Pilatus”) aircraft operating for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the Twin Commander aircraft operating for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was also partially due to an earlier deployment of our surveillance aircraft in the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase in aerial surveillance revenue accounted for 10% of the total increase in revenues for the year ended December 31, 2024.
MRO revenue was $13.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $48,000 for the year ended December 31, 2023. This amount is primarily due to the return-to-service work performed on the Spanish Scoopers in connection with the MAB Funding, LLC (“MAB”) services agreement and MRO work performed by Flight Test & Mechanical Solutions, Inc. (“FMS”) which was acquired in June 2024. Refer to “Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details. The increase in MRO revenue accounted for 43% of the total increase in revenues for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Other services revenue increased by $4.0 million, or 436%, to $4.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, from $0.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was primarily due to third-party training and flight operations services utilizing our aircraft for the year ended December 31, 2024 that did not occur for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase in other services revenue accounted for 12% of the total increase in revenues for the year ended December 31, 2024.
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Revenues by geographic area for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 were as follows:
| For the years ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | 2024 | 2023 | Period Over Period Change ($) | Period Over Period Change (%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States | $ | 88,527 | $ | 49,486 | $ | 39,041 | 79% | |||||||||||||||||||
| Spain | 10,086 | 48 | 10,038 | 20,913% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Canada | — | 17,174 | (17,174) | (100%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total revenues | $ | 98,613 | $ | 66,708 | $ | 31,905 | 48% | |||||||||||||||||||
United States revenue increased by $39.0 million, or 79%, to $88.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, from $49.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was primarily driven by increased flight hours due to an earlier start to the 2024 wildfire season and a more intense wild fire season for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.
Spain revenue was $10.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $48,000 for the year ended December 31, 2023. This amount is due to the return-to-service work performed on the Spanish Scoopers in connection with the MAB services agreement. Refer to “Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details.
Canada revenue was zero for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to 17.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The Company had no aerial firefighting operations in Canada in 2024.
Cost of Revenues
Total cost of revenues increased by $16.1 million, or 39%, to $57.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, from $41.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Flight Operations
Flight operations costs increased by $6.6 million, or 27%, to $31.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, from $24.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase in depreciation expense of $3.4 million, an increase in employee labor expenses of $1.6 million, an increase in training expenses of $0.8 million and an increase in aircraft lease expense of $0.8 million due to two Pilatus operating leases commencing in July 2023 and a Twin Otter operating lease commencing in April 2023, in each case for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.
Maintenance
Maintenance costs increased by $9.5 million, or 56%, to $26.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, from $16.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was primarily driven by an increase in aircraft maintenance and modification expense of $5.2 million, an increase in employee labor expenses of approximately $2.9 million and increase in depreciation expense of $1.4 million, in each case for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.
Selling, General and Administrative Expense
Selling, general and administrative expense decreased by $47.0 million, or 57%, to $35.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, from $82.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The decrease was primarily attributable to the decrease in stock-based compensation of $32.1 million primarily associated with the immediate vesting of RSUs issued to executives and senior management of Bridger in connection with the Reverse Recapitalization in January 2023. The remaining decrease was partially attributable to a decrease of $5.7 million in business development, insurance, professional services and other expenses associated with becoming a public company in 2023, a decrease in the market value of the Warrants of $4.3 million, impairment charges of $2.4 million associated with three of our Twin Commander aircraft and our two Aurora eVTOL Skiron drone aircraft due to our plan to phase out our use of these specific platforms in our aerial surveillance operations for the year ended 2023, a decrease in employee labor expenses of approximately $0.9 million, and an increase in capitalized software development costs of $0.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.
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Interest Expense
Interest expense increased by $0.5 million, or 2%, to $23.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, from $23.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was primarily driven by a lower capitalized interest associated with the financing of the construction of fixed assets for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.
Other Income
Other income decreased by $1.0 million, or 32%, to $2.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, from $3.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The decrease was primarily attributable to non-recurring interest income earned in 2023, prior to the sale of certain investments by December 31, 2023.
Income Tax Benefit
Income tax benefit increased by $0.5 million, or 152%, to $0.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, from $0.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was attributable to a discrete benefit generated from the FMS acquisition during 2024.
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
Although we believe that net income or loss, as determined in accordance with GAAP, is the most appropriate earnings measure, we use EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as key profitability measures to assess the performance of our business. We believe these measures help illustrate underlying trends in our business and use the measures to establish budgets and operational goals, and communicate internally and externally, in managing our business and evaluating its performance. We also believe these measures help investors compare our operating performance with its results in prior periods in a way that is consistent with how management evaluates such performance.
Each of the profitability measures described below is not recognized under GAAP and do not purport to be an alternative to net income or loss determined in accordance with GAAP as a measure of our performance. Such measures have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for our results as reported under GAAP. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA exclude items that can have a significant effect on our profit or loss and should, therefore, be used only in conjunction with our GAAP profit or loss for the period. Our management compensates for the limitations of using non-GAAP financial measures by using them to supplement GAAP results to provide a more complete understanding of the factors and trends affecting the business than GAAP results alone. Because not all companies use identical calculations, these measures may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies.
EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA
EBITDA is a non-GAAP profitability measure that represents net income or loss for the period before the impact of interest expense, income tax expense (benefit) and depreciation and amortization of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets. EBITDA eliminates potential differences in performance caused by variations in capital structures (affecting financing expenses), the cost and age of tangible assets (affecting relative depreciation expense) and the extent to which intangible assets are identifiable (affecting relative amortization expense).
Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP profitability measure that represents EBITDA before certain items that are considered to hinder comparison of the performance of our businesses on a period-over-period basis or with other businesses. During the periods presented, we exclude from Adjusted EBITDA certain costs that are required to be expensed in accordance with GAAP, including stock-based compensation, business development and integration expenses, offering costs, gains and losses on disposal of fixed assets, non-cash adjustments to the fair value of earnout consideration and non-cash adjustments to the fair value of Warrants issued in connection with the Reverse Recapitalization. Our management believes that the inclusion of supplementary adjustments to EBITDA applied in presenting Adjusted EBITDA are appropriate to provide additional information to investors about certain material non-cash items and about unusual items that we do not expect to continue at the same level in the future.
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The reconciliation of Net loss, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 is as follows:
| For the years ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ($s in thousands) | 2024 | 2023 | Period Over Period Change ($) | Period Over Period Change (%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (15,567) | $ | (77,358) | $ | 61,791 | (80%) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Income tax benefit | (762) | (302) | (460) | 152% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 17,451 | 11,089 | 6,362 | 57% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | 23,714 | 23,218 | 496 | 2% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| EBITDA | 24,836 | (43,353) | 68,189 | (157%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Stock-based compensation1 | 16,160 | 47,796 | (31,636) | (66%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Business development & integration expenses2 | 1,140 | 5,687 | (4,547) | (80%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Change in fair value of earnout consideration3 | (393) | 167 | (560) | (335%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Change in fair value of Warrants4 | (4,530) | (267) | (4,263) | 1,597% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Offering costs5 | 123 | 5,773 | (5,650) | (98%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Loss on disposals and non-cash impairment charges6 | — | 2,869 | (2,869) | (100%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 37,336 | $ | 18,672 | $ | 18,664 | 100% | |||||||||||||||||||
Net loss margin7 | (16) | % | (116) | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Adjusted EBITDA margin7 | 38 | % | 28 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
1 Represents non-cash stock-based compensation expense associated with employee and non-employee equity awards.
2 Represents expenses related to integration costs for completed acquisitions and expenses related to potential acquisition targets and additional business lines.
3 Represents non-cash fair value adjustment for earnout consideration issued in connection with the acquisitions of Ignis Technologies, Inc. (“Ignis”) and FMS.
4 Represents the non-cash fair value adjustment for Warrants issued in connection with Reverse Recapitalization.
5 Represents one-time costs for professional service fees related to the preparation for potential offerings that have been expensed during the period.
6 Represents loss on the disposal of an aging aircraft and non-cash impairment charges on aircraft with projected cash flow losses.
7 Net loss margin represents Net loss divided by Total revenue and Adjusted EBITDA margin represents Adjusted EBITDA divided by Total revenue.
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LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company had an operating income of $5.3 million, net loss of $15.6 million and cash flow provided by operating activities of $9.4 million. In addition, as of December 31, 2024, the Company had unrestricted cash and investments of $39.3 million.
In the prior reporting period, the Company identified certain conditions that raised substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. These conditions included noncompliance with certain financial covenants, including maintaining minimum liquidity requirements and uncertainty regarding the Company’s ability to diligently prosecute a cost reduction plan. However, in the subsequent period, the Company is in compliance with all financial covenants and successfully improved cash flow. As a result, management has concluded that substantial doubt no longer exists.
As of March 10, 2025, $5,869,526 is available for potential future sales under the 2024 ATM Agreement, which may be utilized for future financings under our effective shelf registration statement. The amount registered for potential future sales under the 2024 ATM Agreement was reduced to $5,869,526 on April 15, 2024 in accordance with General Instruction I.B.6 of Form S-3 in connection with the Company’s Registered Direct Offering of 2,183,366 shares of Common Stock described in “Note 19 – Stockholders' Deficit” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Cash and Marketable Securities
As of December 31, 2024, our principal sources of liquidity were cash and cash equivalents of $39.3 million which were held for working capital purposes and restricted cash of $13.7 million. Restricted cash consists primarily of cash reserved for debt servicing on the Series 2022 Bonds. From time to time, the Company invests its excess cash in highly rated available-for-sale securities, with the primary objective of minimizing the potential risk of principal loss. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had zero investments in debt securities classified as available-for-sale.
We may receive up to $306.5 million from the exercise of the 9,400,000 private placement warrants and 17,249,874 public warrants of the Company outstanding (collectively, the “Warrants”), assuming the exercise in full of all the Warrants for cash, but not from the sale of the shares of Common Stock issuable upon such exercise. On December 31, 2024, the closing price of our Common Stock was $2.13 per share. For so long as the market price of our Common Stock is below the exercise price of our Warrants ($11.50 per share), our Warrants remain “out-of-the money,” and holders of our Warrants are unlikely to cash exercise their Warrants, resulting in little or no cash proceeds to us. There can be no assurance that our Warrants will be in the money prior to their January 24, 2028 expiration date, and therefore, we may not receive any cash proceeds from the exercise of our Warrants to fund our operations. Accordingly, we have not relied on the receipt of proceeds from the exercise of our Warrants in assessing our capital requirements and sources of liquidity.
We may in the future seek to raise additional funds through various potential sources, such as equity and debt financing for general corporate purposes or for specific purposes, including in order to pursue growth initiatives. Based on our unrestricted cash and cash equivalents balance as of December 31, 2024, and our projected cash use, we would anticipate the need to raise additional funds through equity or debt financing (or the issuance of stock as acquisition consideration) to pursue any significant acquisition opportunity, at the time of such acquisition opportunity. Our ability to generate proceeds from equity financings will significantly depend on the market price of our Common Stock.
We believe our cash on hand, and cash expected to be generated from operating activities will be sufficient to fund our operations for the next twelve months. As described in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, our quarterly and annual operating results have fluctuated in the past and may vary in the future due to a variety of factors, many of which are external to our control. If the conditions in our industry deteriorate (such as due to the seasonality of our business), or if we are unable to sufficiently increase our revenues or further reduce our expenses, we may experience, in the future, a significant negative impact to our financial results and cash flows from operations. In such a situation, we could need to seek liquidity from sources other than our operations.
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Indebtedness
Series 2022 Bonds
On July 21, 2022, we closed our Series 2022 Bond Offering in a taxable industrial development revenue bond transaction with Gallatin County, Montana for $160.0 million (the “Series 2022 Bond Offering”). Pursuant to the Series 2022 Bond Offering, Gallatin County issued $135.0 million of bonds on July 21, 2022 and an additional $25.0 million of bonds on August 10, 2022. The proceeds from the offering, together with cash on hand, were used to redeem the capital contributions plus accrued interest for all of the remaining Legacy Bridger Series A-1 preferred shares and Legacy Bridger Series A-2 preferred shares totaling $134.0 million, the principal plus accrued interest for the Series 2021 Gallatin County municipal bond, totaling $7.7 million, to finance the construction and equipping of the Company’s third aircraft hangar in Belgrade, Montana and to fund the purchase of additional Super Scooper aircraft. The Series 2022 Bonds mature on September 1, 2027, with an annual interest rate of 11.5%. Interest is payable semiannually on March 1 and September 1 of each year until maturity and commenced on September 1, 2022. Debt issuance costs for the Series 2022 Bonds was $4.2 million.
Optional Redemption—We may redeem the Series 2022 Bonds (i) during the period beginning on September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026, at a redemption price equal to 103% of the principal amount plus accrued interest; (ii) during the period beginning on September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2027, at a redemption price equal to 102% of the principal amount plus accrued interest; and (iii) on or after September 1, 2027, at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount plus accrued interest. At our direction, the Series 2022 Bonds may be redeemed by Gallatin County at any time, at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount plus accrued interest upon the occurrence of certain events set forth in that certain Amended and Restated Trust Indenture, dated as of June 1, 2022 (the “Indenture”), between Gallatin County and U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Mandatory and Extraordinary Redemptions—Subject to the terms of the Indenture, the Series 2022 Bonds must be redeemed, including, among other things, (i) from all the proceeds of the sale of any Super Scooper, (ii) in an amount equal to (a) 50% of our operating revenues less the portion used to pay or establish reserves for all our expenses, debt payments, capital improvements, replacements, and contingencies (“Excess Cash Flow”) or (b) 100% of Excess Cash Flow, in each case, in the event we fall below certain debt service coverage ratio (“DSCR”) requirements set forth in the Indenture, and (iii) upon a change of control (each a “Mandatory Redemption”). For each Mandatory Redemption, the Series 2022 Bonds will be redeemed in whole or in part, at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of each Series 2022 Bond redeemed plus any premium that would be applicable to an optional redemption of the Series 2022 Bonds on such date (and if such redemption occurs prior to September 1, 2025, the applicable premium shall be three percent (3%)) and accrued interest. Furthermore, subject to the terms of the Indenture, at our direction, the Series 2022 Bonds may be redeemed by Gallatin County at any time, at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount plus accrued interest upon the occurrence of certain events, including, among other things, casualty, condemnation, or other unexpected events set forth in the Indenture.
Financial Covenants— In connection with the Series 2022 Bonds, we are a party to certain loan agreements that contain customary representation and warranties, negative covenants, including, limitations on indebtedness, reduction of liquidity below certain levels, and asset sales, merger and other transactions, and remedies on and events of default.
Under the terms of such loan agreements, we are subject to certain financial covenants, that require, among other things, that we operate in a manner and to the extent permitted by applicable law, to produce sufficient gross revenues so as to be at all relevant times in compliance with the terms of such covenants, including that we maintain (i) beginning with the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2023, a minimum DSCR (generally calculated as the aggregate amount of our total gross revenues, minus operating expenses, plus interest, depreciation and amortization expense, for any period, over our maximum annual debt service requirements, as determined under such loan agreement) that exceeds 1.25x and (ii) beginning with the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2022, a minimum liquidity of not less than $8 million in the form of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, plus liquid investments and unrestricted marketable securities at all times.
Subject to the terms of the loan agreements, in the event we are unable to comply with the terms of the financial covenants, we may be required (among other potential remedial actions) to engage an independent consultant to review, analyze and make recommendations with respect to our operations or in some instances, this could result in an event of default and/or the acceleration of our debt obligations under the loan agreements. In addition, the acceleration of our debt obligations may in some instances (as set forth in our Amended and Restated Charter) result in an increase in the dividend rate of the Series A Preferred Stock by 2.00% per annum from the dividend rate otherwise in effect at such time.
The Company is in compliance with the DSCR covenant as of December 31, 2024 and management anticipates the Company will remain in compliance with the DSCR covenant at future quarterly measurement periods during the next 12 months. The Company is in compliance with the $8.0 million minimum liquidity requirement as of December 31, 2024.
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The Series 2022 Bonds agreements provide that, with regard to covenant violations, other than non-payment of principal or interest, no event of default shall be deemed to have occurred so long as a reasonable course of action to remedy a violation commences within 30 days of non-compliance and management diligently prosecutes the remediation plan to completion.
Live Oak Bank Loans
Our loans with Live Oak Bank are subject to financial covenants requiring the Company to maintain a DSCR, generally calculated as the ratio of the net cash flow (as defined in the applicable note agreements) to the amount of interest and servicing fees required to be paid over the succeeding 12 months on the principal amount of the note, as applicable, that will be outstanding on the payment date following such date of determination, that exceeds 1.25x at the aircraft or entity level and for the Company’s debt to worth ratio to not exceed 5.00x at the aircraft or entity level. The Company is in compliance with such financial covenants as of December 31, 2024.
Citywide Banks Loans
Through certain of our subsidiaries, we entered into two credit facilities with Citywide Banks (formerly known as Rocky Mountain Bank) to finance in part (i) the construction of airplane hangars on September 30, 2019 and (ii) the purchase of four Quest Kodiak aircraft on February 3, 2020. In connection with such credit facilities, we also entered into various term loan and other long-term debt agreements which contain certain financial covenants, including, that we maintain (i) a DSCR that exceeds 1.25x (generally calculated as the ratio of the net operating income over the debt service payments made or as the ratio of adjusted EBITDA over the aggregate amount of interest and principal payments, in each case, as determined in the applicable agreement) and (ii) certain senior leverage ratios that do not exceed 6.00x through the third quarter of 2025 or 5.00x thereafter (generally calculated as the ratio of the senior funded debt over EBITDA, as determined in the applicable agreement). The Company is in compliance with such financial covenants as of December 31, 2024.
Mezzanine and Permanent Equity
Preferred Shares
On April 25, 2022, we authorized and issued 315,789.473684 Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares for aggregate proceeds of $288.5 million, net of issuance costs of $11.5 million. Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares rank senior to our Common Stock and ranked subordinate to Legacy Bridger Series A Preferred Shares with respect to the distribution of assets upon liquidation or certain triggering events. Upon the Closing, Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares were exchanged for shares of Series A Preferred Stock on a one-to-one basis as a portion of the merger consideration issued in connection with the Reverse Recapitalization. The Series A Preferred Stock is classified as mezzanine equity as it remains probable that they may become redeemable upon the mandatory redemption date of April 25, 2032. Series A Preferred Stock does not participate in earnings and is non-voting. For additional information regarding the terms and conditions of the Series A Preferred Stock, see “Note 18 – Mezzanine Equity” for additional details.
Prior to the Closing, Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares accrued interest daily at 7% per annum for the first year, 9% per annum for the second year and 11% per annum thereafter. Following the Closing, the Series A Preferred Stock will continue to accrue interest daily at 7% per annum for the first six years, 9% per annum for the seventh year and 11% per annum thereafter. Accrued interest for Series A Preferred Stock was $25.3 million as of December 31, 2024.
As of December 31, 2024, it was probable that the Series A Preferred Stock may become redeemable at the holder’s option on or after March 29, 2027. We have elected to recognize changes in redemption value immediately, adjusting the preferred shares to the maximum redemption value at each reporting date. As of December 31, 2024, Series A Preferred Stock had a carrying value and redemption value of $380.2 million.
Historical Cash Flows
Our consolidated cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 were as follows:
| For the years ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | $ | 9,355 | $ | (26,808) | ||||||||||
| Net cash provided by investing activities | 2,056 | 27,158 | ||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | 4,673 | (5,831) | ||||||||||||
| Effects of exchange rate changes | 62 | (42) | ||||||||||||
| Net change in cash and cash equivalents | $ | 16,146 | $ | (5,523) | ||||||||||
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Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities was $9.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to Net cash used in operating activities of $26.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Net cash provided by operating activities reflects Net loss of $15.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to Net loss of $77.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Net cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 reflects add-backs to Net loss for non-cash charges totaling $28.0 million, primarily attributable to depreciation and amortization of $17.5 million, stock-based compensation expense of $16.2 million, and partially offset by the change in fair value of the Warrants of $4.5 million. Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 reflects add-backs to Net loss for non-cash charges totaling $62.2 million, primarily attributable to stock-based compensation expense of $47.8 million and depreciation and amortization of $11.1 million.
Investing Activities
Net cash provided by investing activities was $2.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to Net cash provided by investing activities of $27.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 reflects purchases of property, plant and equipment of $4.1 million, which is primarily comprised of purchases, aircraft improvements and expenditures for capitalized software of $1.2 million, partially offset by the collection of cash from note receivable of $3.0 million, cash acquired through the FMS Acquisition of $2.6 million and proceeds from maturities of marketable securities of $1.1 million. Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily reflects proceeds from sales and maturities of marketable securities of $55.4 million, partially offset by purchases of property, plant and equipment of $20.7 million.
Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities was $4.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to Net cash used in financing activities of $5.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 primarily reflects gross proceeds from issuance of Common Stock in offerings of $9.3 million, partially offset by repayments on debt of $3.0 million and payment of issuance costs for Common Stock in offerings of $1.0 million. Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily reflects costs incurred related to the Closing of $6.8 million and repayments of debt of $2.2 million partially offset by proceeds from the Closing of $3.2 million.
Contractual Obligations
Our principal commitments consist of obligations for outstanding leases and debt. The following table summarizes our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2024:
| Payments Due by Period | ||||||||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | Total | Current | Noncurrent | |||||||||||||||||
Lease obligations | $ | 10,539 | $ | 2,449 | $ | 8,090 | ||||||||||||||
Debt obligations | 208,387 | 3,173 | 205,214 | |||||||||||||||||
Total | $ | 218,926 | $ | 5,622 | $ | 213,304 | ||||||||||||||
On November 17, 2023, the Company entered into a series of agreements with MAB and its subsidiary designed to facilitate the purchase and return-to-service of four Spanish Scoopers originally awarded to the Company in September 2023 via a public tender process from the Government of Spain. The terms of the agreements provide that the Company will manage the return-to-service upgrades of the Spanish Scoopers while they are owned and funded by MAB. The Company has the right, but not the obligation, to acquire each plane as it is ready to be contracted and returned to service. In the event that the Company does not purchase the aircraft within the time periods set forth in the agreements, then either party may initiate a sales process for the sale of all aircraft that have not been purchased by the Company, which sales process the Company will oversee and manage. If the aircraft are sold to a third party through such process, then the Company must pay the MAB’s subsidiary a cash fee equal to the amount, if any, by which the aggregate price of the Company’s purchase options for such aircraft exceeds the consideration paid by the third-party purchaser for the same aircraft, not to exceed $15.0 million in aggregate. If the aircraft are not sold to a third party and MAB’s subsidiary has not otherwise entered into an operating lease with a third party for the aircraft, then the Company must pay MAB’s subsidiary $15.0 million.
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Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
On November 17, 2023, we entered into a series of agreements designed to facilitate the purchase and return-to-service of the Spanish Scoopers originally awarded to the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, BAE, in September 2023 via a public tender process from the Government of Spain for €40.3 million. Under the terms of the agreements, we agreed to sell its entire outstanding equity interest in BAE to MAB and purchase $4.0 million of non-voting Class B units of MAB. We also entered into a services agreement with MAB whereby we will manage the return-to-service upgrades of the Spanish Scoopers through the Company’s wholly-owned Spanish subsidiary, Albacete Aero, S.L., while they are owned and funded by MAB. The service agreement also provides that we have the right, but not the obligation, to acquire each Spanish Scooper as it is ready to be contracted and returned to service. The Company assessed both MAB and BAE for variable interest entity accounting under ASC 810-10-15 and determined that MAB is a voting interest entity and BAE is a variable interest entity. However, neither entity is consolidated in the Consolidated Financial Statements as the Company does not have a controlling financial interest in MAB and the Company is not the primary beneficiary of BAE.
As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, we did not have any other relationships with special purpose or variable interest entities which have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements, which have not been consolidated in the Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company. Refer to “Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
Our Consolidated Financial Statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these Consolidated Financial Statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, costs and expenses, provision for income taxes and related disclosures. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Changes in accounting estimates are reasonably likely to occur from period to period. Accordingly, actual results could differ significantly from the estimates made by our management. We evaluate our estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, our future financial statement presentation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows will be affected.
We believe that the following critical accounting policies involve a greater degree of judgment or complexity than our other accounting policies. Accordingly, these are the policies we believe are the most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
Investments in Marketable Securities
Investments in debt securities are classified as available-for-sale and are carried at fair value, with unrealized gains and losses reported as accumulated other comprehensive income. Gains and losses are recognized when realized. Unrealized losses are evaluated for impairment to determine if the impairment is credit related. An other-than-temporary credit impairment would be recognized as an adjustment to income. Gains and losses are determined using the first-in first-out method. Investments in marketable securities are classified as current assets with short-term maturities of less than one year.
Revenue Recognition
We enter into short, medium and long-term contracts with customers, primarily with government agencies to deploy aerial fire management assets during the firefighting season. Contracts with our customers generally include a termination for convenience clause. The majority of our contracts are started and completed within the same year. We recognize revenue under Accounting Standards Codification 606, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers” (“ASC 606”), which utilizes a five-step model.
The definition of a contract for us is typically defined as a customer purchase order as this is when we achieve an enforceable right to payment. The deliverables within a customer purchase order are analyzed to determine the number of performance obligations.
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A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct good or service to the customer and is the unit of account under ASC 606. A contract’s transaction price is allocated to each distinct performance obligation and recognized as revenue when, or as, control is transferred and the performance obligation is satisfied. The majority of our contracts have a single performance obligation as the promise to transfer the individual goods or services are highly interrelated or meet the series guidance. For contracts with multiple performance obligations, we allocate the contract transaction price to each performance obligation using our best estimate of the standalone selling price of each distinct good or service in the contract. The primary method used to estimate the standalone selling price is the expected cost plus a margin approach, under which we forecast our expected costs of satisfying a performance obligation and then add an appropriate margin for that distinct good or service.
For Aerial firefighting contracts, the Company primarily performs the following activities as part of a stand-ready obligation: (i) providing our aircraft, pilot, and field maintenance personnel necessary to operate the aircraft (ii) performing the services required on the contract, whether it be fire suppression or aerial surveillance services. The integrated firefighting services that we perform under each contract represent a single performance obligation satisfied over time, as a series of distinct time increments. The amounts billed to the customer are determined based on varying rates applicable to the specific activities performed on a daily basis. Such consideration is allocated to the distinct daily increment it relates to within the contract and therefore, recognized as we perform the daily firefighting services on the contract. We utilize the output method to recognize revenue over time as this depicts the Company’s performance toward complete satisfaction of the performance obligation
Maintenance repair revenue consists of maintenance repair and return-to-service work performed on customer aircraft. For maintenance repair contracts, we manufacture products to customer specifications and the product cannot be easily modified to satisfy another customer’s order or we perform return-to-service work on customer aircraft. As such, these products are deemed to have no alternative use once the manufacturing process begins. In the event the customer invokes a termination for convenience clause, we would be entitled to costs incurred to date plus a reasonable profit. Contract costs typically include labor, materials, overhead, and when applicable, subcontractor costs. For most of our products, we are building assets with no alternative use and have enforceable right to payment, and thus, we recognize revenue using the over-time method. For return-to-service contracts, the customer maintains control of the asset as we perform the services.
The majority of our performance obligations are satisfied over time as work progresses. Typically, revenue is recognized over time using an input measure (i.e., costs incurred to date relative to total estimated costs at completion, also known as cost-to-cost plus reasonable profit) to determine progress.
Contract estimates are based on various assumptions to project the outcome of future events that can span multiple months or years. These assumptions include labor productivity and availability; the complexity of the work to be performed; the cost and availability of materials; and the performance of subcontractors.
As a significant change in one or more of these estimates could affect the progress completed (and related profitability) on our MRO contracts, we review and update our contract-related estimates on a regular basis. We recognize such adjustments under the cumulative catch-up method. Under this method, the impact of the adjustment is recognized in the period the adjustment is identified. Revenue and profit in future periods of contract performance is recognized using the adjusted estimate. The impact of adjustments in contract estimates on our operating earnings can be reflected in either operating costs and expenses or revenue.
Business Combinations
The Company records tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed in business combinations under the acquisition method of accounting in accordance with ASC 805, Business Combinations. Under the acquisition method of accounting, amounts paid for the acquisition are allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values at the date of acquisition inclusive of identifiable intangible assets. Acquisition consideration includes contingent consideration with payment terms based on the achievement of certain targets of the acquired business. The estimated fair value of identifiable assets and liabilities, including intangibles, are based on valuations that use information and assumptions available to management. The Company allocates any excess purchase price over the fair value of the tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed to goodwill. Significant management judgments and assumptions are required in determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, particularly acquired intangible assets, including estimated useful lives. The valuation of purchased intangible assets is based upon estimates of the future performance and discounted cash flows of the acquired business. Each asset acquired or liability assumed is measured at estimated fair value from the perspective of a market participant.
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Contingent consideration represents an obligation of the acquirer to transfer additional assets or equity interests to the seller if future events occur or conditions are met and is recognized when probable and reasonably estimable. Contingent consideration recognized is included in the initial cost of the assets acquired. Subsequent changes in the estimated fair value of contingent consideration are recognized as Selling, general and administrative expenses within the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Stock-Based Compensation
In January 2023, the Company along with its board of directors established and approved and assumed the Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. 2023 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “Omnibus Plan”). The Omnibus Plan was developed to motivate and reward employees and other individuals to perform at the highest level and contribute significantly to the success of the Company, thereby furthering the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. The Omnibus Plan provides, among other things, the ability for the Company to grant options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), performance awards and other stock-based and cash-based awards to employees, consultants and non-employee directors.
The Omnibus Plan expires on January 23, 2033. As of December 31, 2024, the Omnibus Plan authorized an aggregate of 15,994,676 shares of Common Stock for issuance. As of December 31, 2024, 8,422,192 shares of Common Stock remain available under the Omnibus Plan.
As of December 31, 2024, the Company has granted participants RSUs and bonuses paid in Common Stock under the Omnibus Plan. The fair value of RSUs is determined based on the quoted market price of the Common Stock on the date of grant. Compensation cost for the RSUs is recognized over the requisite service period based on a graded-vesting method. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur. Stock-based compensation is included in both Cost of revenues and Selling, general and administrative expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Upon vesting of each RSU, the Company will issue one share of Common Stock to the RSU holder.
Impairment of Goodwill and Long-Lived Assets
Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of purchase price over fair value of the net assets acquired in an acquisition. Beginning in 2023, the Company assesses goodwill for impairment as of October 1 annually or more frequently upon an indicator of impairment. The change to an October 1 annual goodwill impairment assessment date was made to ensure the completion of the Company’s assessment prior to the end of its annual reporting period, thereby aligning impairment testing procedures with its year-end financial reporting.
When we elect to perform a qualitative assessment and conclude it is more likely that the fair value of the reporting unit is greater than its carrying value, no further assessment of that reporting unit’s goodwill is necessary. Otherwise, a quantitative assessment is performed, and the fair value of the reporting unit is determined. If the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss equal to the excess is recorded. Conditions that would trigger an impairment assessment include, but are not limited to, a significant adverse change in legal factors or the business climate that could affect the value of an asset or an adverse reaction. As of the October 1, 2024 and 2023 annual goodwill impairment tests, the Company’s qualitative analysis indicated the fair value of the Company’s reporting units exceeded carrying value.
Long-Lived Assets
A long-lived asset (including amortizable identifiable intangible assets) or asset group is tested for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that its carrying amount may not be recoverable. Conditions that may indicate impairment include, but are not limited to, a significant adverse change in customer demand or business climate that could affect the value of an asset, or an adverse action or assessment by a regulator. When indicators of impairment are present, we evaluate the carrying value of the long-lived assets in relation to the operating performance and future undiscounted cash flows of the underlying assets. We adjust the net book value of the long-lived assets to fair value if the sum of the expected future cash flows is less than book value.
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Property, Plant and Equipment, net
Property, plant and equipment is stated at net book value, cost less depreciation. Depreciation for aircraft, engines and rotable parts is recorded over the estimated useful life based on flight hours. Depreciation for vehicles and equipment, buildings and leasehold improvements is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the property, plant and equipment. Airplane hangars located on leased airport property are considered leasehold improvements with useful lives determined based on the estimated life of the underlying ground lease. Depreciable lives by asset category are as follows:
| Estimated useful life | ||||||||
Aircraft, engines and rotable parts | 1,500 – 6,000 flight hours | |||||||
| Vehicles and equipment | 3 – 5 years | |||||||
| Buildings | 50 years | |||||||
| Leasehold improvements | 27 - 29 years | |||||||
Property, plant and equipment are reviewed for impairment as discussed above under “Long-Lived Assets”.
Cost Method Investments
We hold equity securities without a readily determinable fair value, which are only adjusted for observable price changes in orderly transactions for the same or similar equity securities or any impairment, totaling $5.0 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023.
Variable Interest Entities
In accordance with ASC 810-10-15, Consolidation, guidance with respect to accounting for VIEs, these entities do not have sufficient equity at risk to finance their activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties or whose equity investors lack any of the characteristics of a controlling financial interest. A variable interest is an investment or other interest that will absorb portions of a VIE’s expected losses or receive portions of its expected returns and are contractual, ownership or pecuniary in nature and that change with changes in the fair value of the entity’s net assets. A reporting entity is the primary beneficiary of a VIE and must consolidate it when that party has a variable interest, or combination of variable interests, that provide it with a controlling financial interest. A party is deemed to have a controlling financial interest if it meets both of the power and loss/benefits criteria. The power criterion is the ability to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact its economic performance. The losses/benefits criterion is the obligation to absorb losses from, or right to receive benefits from, the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE. The VIE model requires an ongoing reconsideration of whether a reporting entity is the primary beneficiary of a VIE due to changes in the facts and circumstances. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, Northern Fire Management Services, LLC, a VIE of which the Company was identified as the primary beneficiary, is consolidated into our financial statements. Refer to “Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
In accordance with ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement, fair value is defined 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. Fair value measurements are determined within a framework that establishes a three-tier hierarchy which maximizes the use of observable market data and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs to establish a classification of fair value measurements for disclosure purposes. Inputs may be observable or unobservable. Observable inputs reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on market data obtained from sources independent of our business. Unobservable inputs reflect our own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on the information available.
Warrant Liabilities
We account for the Warrants issued in connection with the Reverse Recapitalization in accordance with the guidance contained in accordance with ASC 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity and ASC 815-40, Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity, under which the Warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment and must be recorded as liabilities. Accordingly, we classify the Warrants as liabilities at their fair value and adjust the Warrants to fair value at each reporting period. The warrant liabilities are subject to remeasurement at each balance sheet date until exercised. Refer to “Note 12 – Accrued Expenses and Other Liabilities” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.
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RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS
For additional information regarding recent accounting pronouncements adopted and under evaluation, refer to “Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
EMERGING GROWTH COMPANY AND SMALLER REPORTING COMPANY STATUS
Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts “emerging growth companies” as defined in Section 2(A) of the Securities Act of 1933, from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can choose not to take advantage of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies, and any such election to not take advantage of the extended transition period is irrevocable. We are an “emerging growth company” and have elected to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will use this extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public business entities and non-public business entities until the earlier of the date that we (a) are no longer an emerging growth company or (b) affirmatively and irrevocably opt out of the extended transition period provided in the JOBS Act. The extended transition period exemptions afforded by our emerging growth company status may make it difficult or impossible to compare our financial results with the financial results of another public company that is either not an emerging growth company or is an emerging growth company that has chosen not to take advantage of this exemption because of the potential differences in accounting standards used. Refer to “Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the recent accounting pronouncements adopted and the recent accounting pronouncements not yet adopted for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023.
We will remain an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act until the earliest of (a) December 31, 2028, (b) the last date of our fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, (c) the last date of our fiscal year in which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” under the rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with at least $700.0 million of outstanding securities held by non-affiliates or (d) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the previous three years.
We will be a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (i) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates is greater than or equal to $250 million as of the end of that fiscal year’s second fiscal quarter, and (ii) our annual revenues are greater than or equal to $100 million during the last completed fiscal year or the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that fiscal year’s second fiscal quarter.
INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING
We have identified two material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, which we are in the process of, and are focused on, remediating. The material weaknesses are related to the accounting for complex transactions within our financial statement closing and reporting process, and maintaining and monitoring user access to certain IT systems contributing to our financial reporting.
While we remediated substantial parts of these pre-existing material weaknesses throughout the year, we concluded that we may be exposed to the risk of material misstatement in our financial reports by a deficiency in our precision of the review of the inputs provided by external technical accounting experts, as well as the assignment and monitoring of user access in some of our IT applications.
We have already begun the process of, and are focused on, increasing the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and remediating the material weakness, including:
•improving the workflow for complex accounting transactions to include multiple levels of review and increase the time available to thoroughly evaluate the application of GAAP and improve the precision of review of assumptions made within third party accounting experts’ work product and
•hiring a Director of Technical Accounting and Reporting in December 2024 to augment and improve our review of third-party accounting advice.
•restricting privileged access in our general ledger and account reconciliation applications to ensure the strict enforcement of workflows, and
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•designing controls to closely monitor the way in which remaining privileged access to financially relevant IT applications is exercised by those who hold it.
While these ongoing and planned actions are subject to constant management evaluation and will require validation and testing of the design and operating effectiveness of internal controls over a sustained period of financial reporting cycles, we are committed to the improvement of our internal control over financial reporting and will continue to diligently review our internal control over financial reporting.
Although we plan to complete this remediation process as quickly as possible, we are unable, at this time, to estimate how long it will take, and our efforts may not be successful in remediating the identified material weaknesses. In addition, even if we are successful in strengthening our controls and procedures, we can give no assurances that in the future such controls and procedures will be adequate to prevent or identify errors or irregularities or to facilitate the fair preparation and presentation of our Consolidated Financial Statements.
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.
Pursuant to Item 305(e) of Regulation S-K, the Company is not required to provide the information required by this Item as it is a “smaller reporting company” as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.
BRIDGER AEROSPACE GROUP HOLDINGS, INC.
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID | |||||
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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
Stockholders and the Board of Directors of
Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc.
Belgrade, Montana
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive loss, stockholders’ deficit, and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2024, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2024, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Crowe LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2022.
March 14, 2025
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BRIDGER AEROSPACE GROUP HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||||||||
| Current assets: | ||||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Restricted cash | ||||||||||||||
| Investments in marketable securities | ||||||||||||||
| Accounts and note receivable | ||||||||||||||
| Aircraft support parts | ||||||||||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | ||||||||||||||
| Total current assets | ||||||||||||||
| Property, plant and equipment, net | ||||||||||||||
| Intangible assets, net | ||||||||||||||
| Goodwill | ||||||||||||||
Other noncurrent assets, net1 | ||||||||||||||
| Total assets | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| LIABILITIES, MEZZANINE EQUITY AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||||||||
| Current liabilities: | ||||||||||||||
Accounts payable2 | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities3 | ||||||||||||||
Operating right-of-use current liability4 | ||||||||||||||
| Current portion of long-term debt, net of debt issuance costs | ||||||||||||||
| Total current liabilities | ||||||||||||||
| Long-term accrued expenses and other noncurrent liabilities | ||||||||||||||
Operating right-of-use noncurrent liability5 | ||||||||||||||
Long-term debt, net of debt issuance costs6 | ||||||||||||||
| Total liabilities | ||||||||||||||
| COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | ||||||||||||||
| MEZZANINE EQUITY | ||||||||||||||
Series A Preferred Stock, $ | ||||||||||||||
| STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||||||||
Common Stock, $ | ||||||||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | ||||||||||||||
| Accumulated deficit | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive income | ||||||||||||||
| Total stockholders’ deficit | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Total liabilities, mezzanine equity, and stockholders’ deficit | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
1Includes related party operating lease right-of-use assets of $5.1 million and $6.3 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively .
2Includes related party accounts payable of $0.1
3Includes related party accrued interest expense of zero and $0.4 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
4Includes related party operating lease right-of-use current liabilities of $1.3 million and $1.7 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
5Includes related party operating lease right-of-use noncurrent liabilities of $3.8 million and $4.6 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
6Includes related party debt of zero and $10.0 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial Statements.
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BRIDGER AEROSPACE GROUP HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
| For the years ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||
Revenues1 | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues: | ||||||||||||||
Flight operations2 | ||||||||||||||
| Maintenance | ||||||||||||||
| Total cost of revenues | ||||||||||||||
| Gross income | ||||||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expense | ||||||||||||||
| Operating income (loss) | ( | |||||||||||||
Interest expense3 | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Other income | ||||||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Income tax benefit | ||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||||||||
| Series A Preferred Stock—adjustment for deemed dividend upon Closing | ( | |||||||||||||
| Series A Preferred Stock—adjustment to eliminate 50% multiplier | ||||||||||||||
| Series A Preferred Stock—adjustment to maximum redemptions value | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| (Loss) earnings attributable to Common stockholders – basic | ( | |||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of embedded derivative | ||||||||||||||
| Dilutive adjustments to (Loss) earnings attributable to Common stockholders - basic | ( | |||||||||||||
| Loss attributable to Common stockholders – diluted | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||||||||
| (Loss) earnings per share – basic | $ | ( | $ | |||||||||||
| Loss per share – diluted | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||||||||
| Weighted average Common Stock outstanding - basic | ||||||||||||||
| Weighted average Common Stock outstanding - diluted | ||||||||||||||
1Includes related party revenues of $0.3 million and $0.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
2Includes related party cost of revenues of $2.6 million and $1.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
3Includes related party interest expense of $0.8 million and $1.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial Statements.
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BRIDGER AEROSPACE GROUP HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
(In thousands)
| For the years ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||||||||
| Other comprehensive loss, net of tax: | ||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustment | ( | |||||||||||||
| Unrealized loss on derivative instruments | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Unrealized gain on investments in marketable securities | ||||||||||||||
| Reclassification of realized loss (gain) on investments in marketable securities to earnings | ( | |||||||||||||
| Total other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax | ( | |||||||||||||
| Comprehensive loss | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial Statements.
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BRIDGER AEROSPACE GROUP HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
(In thousands, except share amounts)
| Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares / Series A Preferred Stock | Common Stock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Share | Value | Share | Value | Additional Paid-in Capital | Accumulated Deficit | Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income | Total Stockholders’ Deficit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance at December 31, 2022 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | $ | $ | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | — | — | — | — | — | ( | — | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustment | — | — | — | — | — | — | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unrealized loss on derivative instruments | — | — | — | — | — | — | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unrealized gain on investments on marketable securities | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reclassification of realized gain on investments in marketable securities to earnings | — | — | — | — | — | — | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Effect of the Closing | — | ( | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series A Preferred Stock adjustment to maximum redemptions value | — | — | — | ( | — | — | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bonuses paid in Common Stock | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Common Stock issued related to acquisition activity | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance at December 31, 2023 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | $ | $ | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | — | — | — | — | — | ( | — | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustment | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unrealized loss on derivative instruments | — | — | — | — | — | — | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reclassification of realized loss on investments in marketable securities to earnings | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series A Preferred Stock adjustment to maximum redemption value | — | — | — | ( | — | — | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sales of Common Stock through offerings | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Costs related to offerings | — | — | — | — | ( | — | — | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Common Stock issued related to acquisition activity | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Repurchased shares for tax withholding | — | — | ( | — | ( | — | — | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cancellation of vested restricted stock units | — | — | ( | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance at December 31, 2024 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | $ | $ | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial Statements.
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BRIDGER AEROSPACE GROUP HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In thousands)
| For the years ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||
| Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | ||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||||||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities, net of acquisitions: | ||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | ||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | ||||||||||||||
| Impairment of long-lived assets | ||||||||||||||
| Amortization of debt issuance costs | ||||||||||||||
| Loss on disposal of fixed assets | ||||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of Warrants | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of embedded derivative | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of freestanding derivative | ||||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of earnout consideration | ( | |||||||||||||
| Realized gain on investments in marketable securities | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Deferred tax benefit | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net: | ||||||||||||||
| Accounts receivable | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Aircraft support parts | ( | |||||||||||||
| Prepaid expense and other current and noncurrent assets | ( | |||||||||||||
Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities1 | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | ( | |||||||||||||
| Cash Flows from Investing Activities: | ||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from sales and maturities of marketable securities | ||||||||||||||
| Purchases of marketable securities | ( | |||||||||||||
| Investment in equity securities | ( | |||||||||||||
| Purchases of property, plant and equipment | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Sale of property, plant and equipment | ||||||||||||||
| Expenditures for capitalized software | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Issuance of note receivable | ( | |||||||||||||
| Collection of note receivable | ||||||||||||||
| Cash acquired through acquisition | ||||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by investing activities | ||||||||||||||
| Cash Flows from Financing Activities: | ||||||||||||||
| Costs incurred related to the Closing | ( | |||||||||||||
| Proceeds from the Closing | ||||||||||||||
| Repayments on debt | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Payment of finance lease liability | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Payment of issuance costs for Common Stock in offerings | ( | |||||||||||||
| Proceeds from issuance of Common Stock in the at-the-market offering | ||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from issuance of Common Stock in the registered direct offering | ||||||||||||||
| Restricted stock units settled in cash | ( | |||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | ( | |||||||||||||
| Effects of exchange rate changes | ( | |||||||||||||
| Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | ( | |||||||||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash – beginning of the year | ||||||||||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash – end of the year | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Less: Restricted cash – end of the year | ||||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents – end of the year | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
1Includes related party accounts payable of $0.1
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial Statements
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BRIDGER AEROSPACE GROUP HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1 – ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION
Nature of Business
Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“Bridger”, “the Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”) provide aerial wildfire surveillance, relief and suppression and aerial firefighting services using next-generation technology and environmentally friendly and sustainable firefighting methods primarily throughout the United States, as well as airframe modification and integration solutions for governmental and commercial customers.
The Company was formed on November 20, 2018 and registered in the State of Delaware. The legal name of the Company was officially changed from ElementCompany Operations, LLC to Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, LLC through an amendment with the State of Delaware, effective January 1, 2020.
As of December 31, 2024, the Company owns fourteen aircraft, including six Viking CL-415EAFs (“Super Scoopers”), four Daher Kodiaks 100s (“Daher Kodiaks”), three Twin Commander surveillance platforms (“Twin Commanders”), and one Pilatus PC-12 (“Pilatus”).
Liquidity
In the prior reporting period, the Company identified certain conditions that raised substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. These conditions included noncompliance with certain financial covenants, including maintaining minimum liquidity requirements and uncertainty regarding the Company’s ability to diligently prosecute the cost reduction plan. However, in the subsequent period, the Company is in compliance with all financial covenants and successfully improved cash flow. As a result, management has concluded that substantial doubt no longer exists.
Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation
Reverse Recapitalization
On January 24, 2023, (the “Closing Date”), Jack Creek Investment Corp (“JCIC”) completed the reverse recapitalization (the “Closing” and the “Reverse Recapitalization”) with the Company’s predecessor, Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, LLC and its subsidiaries (collectively, “Legacy Bridger”), which operated the majority of the historical business and was identified as the acquirer and predecessor upon the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the agreement and plan of merger (the “Transaction Agreements”) entered into on August 3, 2022. On the Closing Date, pursuant to the Transaction Agreements, JCIC and Legacy Bridger became wholly owned subsidiaries of a new public entity that was renamed Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc., and JCIC shareholders and Legacy Bridger equity holders converted their equity ownership in JCIC and Legacy Bridger, respectively, into equity ownership in Bridger.
Upon the consummation of the Reverse Recapitalization, Bridger issued Common Stock to the Legacy Bridger equity holders and Series A Preferred Stock (as defined below) as summarized below:
•the surrender and exchange of all 606,061 Legacy Bridger incentive units (“Incentive Units”) into 583,308 shares of Bridger’s common stock, par value $0.0001 , (“Common Stock”) at a deemed value of $10.00 per share as adjusted by the per share Common Stock consideration of approximately 0.96246 (the “Exchange Ratio”), rounded down to the nearest share for each holder;
•the direct or indirect surrender and exchange of the remaining 40,000,000 issued and outstanding shares of Legacy Bridger common shares (excluding Incentive Units) into 38,498,436 shares of Common Stock at a deemed value of $10.00 per share as adjusted by the Exchange Ratio, rounded down to the nearest share for each holder; and
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•the surrender and exchange of all 315,789.473684 issued and outstanding Series C preferred shares of Legacy Bridger (the “Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares”), which were surrendered and exchanged on a one -to-one basis in connection with the Reverse Recapitalization into 315,789.473684 shares of preferred stock of Bridger that have the rights, powers, designations, preferences, and qualifications, limitations and restrictions set forth in Section 4.5 of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Series A Preferred Stock”). The Series A Preferred Stock are convertible at the election of the holders into shares of Common Stock, without the payment of additional consideration by the holders into such number of shares of Common Stock as determined by dividing the original issue price, plus accrued interest by a conversion price equal to $11.00 at the time of conversion.
Other related events occurred in connection with the Reverse Recapitalization, are summarized below:
•the filing and effectiveness of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Bridger and the effectiveness of the Amended and Restated Bylaws of Bridger, each of which occurred immediately prior to the Closing;
•the adoption and assumption of the 2023 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “Omnibus Plan”) and any grants or awards issued thereunder and adoption of the 2023 Employee Stock Purchase Plan upon the Closing to grant equity awards to Bridger employees; and
•during the period from the Closing until five years following the Closing, JCIC subjected 20 % of JCIC’s issued and outstanding common stock (“Sponsor Earnout Shares”), comprised of two separate tranches of 50 % of the Sponsor Earnout Shares per tranche, to potential forfeiture to Bridger for no consideration until the occurrence (or deemed occurrence) of certain triggering events.
Immediately after giving effect to the Transaction Agreements, the following were outstanding:
•43,769,290 shares of Common Stock;
•315,789.473684 shares of Bridger Series A Preferred Stock;
•9,400,000 private placement warrants (“Private Placement Warrants”) to purchase shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share;
•17,250,000 public warrants (“Public Warrants”) to purchase shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share; and
•6,581,497 restricted stock units issued to the executives and senior management of the Company.
In connection with the Reverse Recapitalization, the Company paid transaction costs of $10.3 million as of the Closing.
The transactions contemplated by the Transaction Agreements were accounted for as a reverse recapitalization in accordance with GAAP. Under this method of accounting, JCIC was treated as the “acquired” company for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, for accounting purposes, the financial statements of Bridger represent a continuation of the financial statements of Legacy Bridger with the Reverse Recapitalization treated as the equivalent of Legacy Bridger issuing stock for the net assets of JCIC, accompanied by a recapitalization. The net assets of JCIC will be stated at historical cost, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded. Operations prior to the Reverse Recapitalization will be those of Legacy Bridger in future reports of Bridger.
Legacy Bridger was determined to be the accounting acquirer as of the Closing Date based on evaluation of the following facts and circumstances:
•Legacy Bridger equity holders had a relative majority of the voting power of Bridger;
•Bridger’s board of directors (the “Board”) had nine members, and representatives or designees of the Legacy Bridger equity holders comprise the majority of the members of the Board;
•Legacy Bridger’s senior management comprised the senior management roles and were responsible for the day-to-day operations of Bridger;
•Bridger assumed Legacy Bridger’s name of business;
•The strategy and operations of Bridger continued Legacy Bridger’s former strategy and operations; and
•The Reverse Recapitalization created an operating public company, with management continuing to use Legacy Bridger operations to grow the business.
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The Sponsor Earnout Shares are determined to be equity classified instruments of Bridger and the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants are determined to remain liability classified instruments upon the Closing.
In accordance with guidance applicable to these circumstances, the equity structure has been recast in all comparative periods up to the Closing to reflect the number of shares of Common Stock issued to Legacy Bridger’s stockholders in connection with the Reverse Recapitalization. As such, the shares and corresponding capital amounts and earnings per share related to Legacy Bridger’s common stock prior to the Reverse Recapitalization have been retroactively recast as shares of Common Stock using the Exchange Ratio.
NOTE 2 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Variable Interest Entities
In accordance with ASC 810-10-15, Consolidation, guidance with respect to accounting for variable interest entities (“VIE”), these entities do not have sufficient equity at risk to finance their activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties or whose equity investors lack any of the characteristics of a controlling financial interest. A variable interest is an investment or other interest that will absorb portions of a VIE’s expected losses or receive portions of its expected returns and are contractual, ownership or pecuniary in nature and that change with changes in the fair value of the entity’s net assets. A reporting entity is the primary beneficiary of a VIE and must consolidate it when that party has a variable interest, or combination of variable interests, that provide it with a controlling financial interest. A party is deemed to have a controlling financial interest if it meets both of the power and loss/benefits criteria. The power criterion is the ability to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact its economic performance. The losses/benefits criterion is the obligation to absorb losses from, or right to receive benefits from, the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE. The VIE model requires an ongoing reconsideration of whether a reporting entity is the primary beneficiary of a VIE due to changes in the facts and circumstances.
Northern Fire Management Services, LLC (“NFMS, LLC”): The Company assisted in designing and organizing NFMS, LLC with a business purpose of employing Canadian aviation professionals to provide services to the Company. A master services agreement exists between NFMS, LLC and the Company, Bridger Air Tanker, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, to transfer all annual expenses incurred to the Company in exchange for the Canadian employees to support the Company’s water scooper aircraft. NFMS, LLC is 50 % owned by a Canadian citizen, and 50 % owned by Bridger Aerospace Group, LLC. NFMS, LLC was determined to be a VIE primarily due to the entity’s lack of sufficient equity investment at risk and the Company was determined to be the primary beneficiary of the VIE primarily attributable to the Company’s responsibility for all decisions related to NFMS, LLC’s expenditures. Accordingly, NFMS, LLC has been consolidated by the Company for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 and all intercompany expenses associated with NFMS, LLC and its service agreement have been eliminated in consolidation. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, NFMS, LLC’s assets and liabilities were immaterial to the Company’s financial statements.
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Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP, requires management to make assumptions and estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of gain or loss contingencies as of the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Such estimates and assumptions include: (a) excess and aging aircraft support parts reserves, (b) allowance for doubtful accounts, (c) useful lives of property, plant and equipment, net, (d) allocation of the purchase price to the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, (e) impairment of long-lived assets, goodwill and other intangible assets, (f) disclosure of fair value of financial instruments, (g) variable interest entities, (h) accounting for Series A Preferred Stock, (i) revenue recognition, (j) estimates and assumptions made in determining the carrying values of goodwill, other intangible assets and contingent consideration and (k) Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants. In the future, the Company may realize actual results that differ from the current reported estimates and if the estimates that the Company has used change in the future, such changes could have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash and all highly liquid, readily convertible investments with a maturity of three months or less. Cash equivalents are placed primarily in time deposits and money market funds due in three months or less. At times, deposits in these institutions exceed the federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts and believes it is not exposed to any significant credit risk related to cash.
Restricted Cash
Investments in Marketable Securities
Investments in debt securities are classified as available-for-sale and are carried at fair value, with unrealized gains and losses reported as accumulated other comprehensive income. Gains and losses are recognized when realized. Unrealized losses are evaluated for impairment to determine if the impairment is credit related. An other-than-temporary credit impairment would be recognized as an adjustment to income. Gains and losses are determined using the first-in first-out method. Investments in marketable securities are classified as current assets with short-term maturities of less than one year.
Accounts and Note Receivable
Accounts receivable consist of amounts due from our customers. The Company maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts equal to the estimated losses expected to be incurred based upon a review of the outstanding accounts receivable, historical collection information and existing economic conditions. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company did not record any bad debt expense as accounts receivable have historically been collected in accordance with the policy and there is no history of write-offs.
Note receivable consists of a promissory note to pay a specific sum, with interest, within a defined period. Each reporting period, the Company evaluates the collectability of the outstanding note receivable balance. If the promissory note is deemed uncollectible, the Company will record the value of the note and the accrued interest as bad debt expense.
Aircraft Support Parts
Aircraft support parts consist of repairables and expendables that are used for servicing aircraft and support parts for universal application amongst the aviation fleet. Aircraft support parts are tracked by serial number and capitalized at cost in the Consolidated Balance Sheets and expensed in the Consolidated Statements of Operations when used in operations.
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Property, Plant and Equipment, net
Property and equipment, net owned by the Company is depreciated over the estimated useful lives of individual assets. Depreciation for aircraft, engines and rotable parts is recorded over the estimated useful life based on flight hours and is recorded in Cost of revenues in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Depreciation for vehicles and equipment, buildings and leasehold improvements is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the property, plant and equipment and is recorded in Selling, general and administrative expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Airplane hangars located on leased airport property are considered leasehold improvements with useful lives determined based on the estimated life of the underlying ground lease. The table below summarizes depreciable lives by asset category:
| Estimated Useful Life | |||||
| Aircraft, engines and rotable parts | |||||
| Vehicles and equipment | |||||
| Buildings | |||||
| Leasehold improvements | |||||
Aircraft undergo maintenance activities including routine repairs, inspections, part replacements and overhauls as required by regulatory authorities or manufacturer specifications. Costs of routine maintenance of aircraft are expensed as incurred as Cost of revenues in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Costs that increase the value of the aircraft are capitalized as Property, plant and equipment, net in the Consolidated Balance Sheets and are depreciated over the asset’s useful life.
Interest on long-term debt for the development or manufacturing of Company assets is capitalized to the asset until the asset enters production or use, and thereafter all interest is charged to expense as incurred.
Business Combinations
The Company records tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed in business combinations under the acquisition method of accounting in accordance with ASC 805, Business Combinations. Under the acquisition method of accounting, amounts paid for the acquisition are allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values at the date of acquisition inclusive of identifiable intangible assets. Acquisition consideration includes contingent consideration with payment terms based on the achievement of certain targets of the acquired business. The estimated fair value of identifiable assets and liabilities, including intangibles, are based on valuations that use information and assumptions available to management. The Company allocates any excess purchase price over the fair value of the tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed to goodwill. Significant management judgments and assumptions are required in determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, particularly acquired intangible assets, including estimated useful lives. The valuation of purchased intangible assets is based upon estimates of the future performance and discounted cash flows of the acquired business. Each asset acquired or liability assumed is measured at estimated fair value from the perspective of a market participant.
Contingent consideration represents an obligation of the acquirer to transfer additional assets or equity interests to the seller if future events occur or conditions are met, is recognized when probable and reasonably estimable. Contingent consideration is first assessed as either an equity or liability depending on the nature of the consideration. All contingent considerations is classified as a liability. Contingent consideration recognized is included in the initial cost of the assets acquired and recorded in Accrued expenses and other current liabilities and Long-term accrued expenses and other noncurrent liabilities within the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Subsequent changes in the estimated fair value of contingent consideration are recognized as Selling, general and administrative expenses within the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Intangible Assets
In accordance with ASC Topic 350, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other, the Company classifies intangible assets into two categories: (1) intangible assets with finite lives subject to amortization and (2) intangible assets with indefinite lives not subject to amortization. Separately, the Company tests intangible assets with finite lives for impairment if conditions exist that indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. Such conditions may include an economic downturn in a geographic market or a change in the assessment of future operations. The Company records an impairment charge when the carrying value of the finite lived intangible asset is not recoverable by the cash flows generated from the use of the asset.
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The Company determines the useful lives of identifiable intangible assets after considering the specific facts and circumstances related to each intangible asset. Factors considered when determining useful lives include the contractual term of any agreement, the history of the asset, the Company’s long-term strategy for the use of the asset, any laws or other local regulations that could impact the useful life of the asset, and other economic factors, including competition and specific market conditions. Intangible assets that are deemed to have finite lives are amortized, generally on a straight-line basis, over their useful lives, ranging from to 15 years.
Intangible assets consist of finite-lived intangible assets acquired through the Company’s historical business combinations and software developed for internal-use. In accordance with ASC Topic 350-40, Software - Internal-Use Software, the Company capitalizes certain direct costs of developing internal-use software that are incurred in the application development stage, when developing or obtaining software for internal use. The Company assesses impairment related to software in accordance with ASC Topic 985-20, Software – Costs of Software To Be Sold, Leased, or Marketed. Once the internal use software is ready for its intended use, it is amortized on a straight-line basis over its useful life. Refer to “Note 10 – Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Net” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Acquired intangible assets are initially recorded at fair value and subsequently amortized over their useful lives using the straight-line method, which reflects the pattern of benefit, and assumes no residual value. Intangible assets with definite lives are reviewed for impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. The carrying value of a long-lived asset is not recoverable if it exceeds the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of the asset. If the carrying value is deemed not to be recoverable, an impairment loss is recorded equal to the amount by which the carrying value of the long-lived asset exceeds its fair value. The remaining estimated useful lives of definite-lived intangible assets are routinely reviewed and, if the estimate is revised, the remaining unamortized balance is amortized over the revised estimated useful life.
Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of purchase price over fair value of the net assets acquired in an acquisition. Refer to “Note 10 – Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Net” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Beginning in 2023, the Company assesses goodwill for impairment as of October 1 annually or more frequently upon an indicator of impairment. The change to an October 1 annual goodwill impairment assessment date was made to ensure the completion of the Company’s assessment prior to the end of its annual reporting period, thereby aligning impairment testing procedures with its year-end financial reporting.
Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level using a fair value approach. The Company first assesses qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value. If, based on a review of qualitative factors, it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value, a quantitative assessment is performed, and the fair value of the reporting unit is determined. If the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss equal to the excess is recorded.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
Long-lived assets are reviewed for impairment in accordance with ASC Topic 360, Property, Plant and Equipment, whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of the assets to future net cash flows (undiscounted and without interest) expected to be generated by the asset. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets. Assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell.
Cost Method Investments
The Company holds equity securities without a readily determinable fair value, which are only adjusted for observable price changes in orderly transactions for the same or similar equity securities or any impairment. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company had $5.0
Deferred Offering Costs
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Debt Issuance Costs
Debt issuance costs consist of expenditures associated with obtaining debt financing, principally legal and bank commitment fees. Such costs are deferred and amortized over the term of the related credit arrangements using a method that approximates the effective interest method. Debt issuance costs are included in the Consolidated Balance Sheets as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of long-term debt and are included in Interest expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The payment of debt issuance costs is recorded under financing activities in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
In accordance with ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement (“ASC 820”), fair value is defined 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. Fair value measurements are determined within a framework that establishes a three-tier hierarchy which maximizes the use of observable market data and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs to establish a classification of fair value measurements for disclosure purposes. Inputs may be observable or unobservable. Observable inputs reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Company’s business. Unobservable inputs reflect the Company’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on the information available.
ASC 820 classifies the inputs used to measure these fair values into the following hierarchy:
Level 1 — Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2 — Observable inputs and quoted prices in active markets for similar assets and liabilities.
Level 3 — Unobservable inputs and models that are supported by little or no market activity.
In all cases, the level in the fair value hierarchy within which the fair value measurement in its entirety has been determined based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.
Revenue Recognition
Aerial firefighting revenues
The Company enters into short, medium and long-term contracts with customers, primarily with government agencies during the firefighting season, to perform aerial firefighting services (fire suppression and air attack). The Company recognizes revenue under ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”).
The majority of the Company’s aerial firefighting contracts have a single performance obligation as the promise to transfer the individual goods or services is not separately identifiable from other promises in the contracts and, therefore, are not distinct. The Company primarily performs the following activities on contracts as part of a stand-ready obligation: (i) providing our aircraft, pilot, and field maintenance personnel necessary to operate the aircraft (ii) performing the services required on the contract, whether it be fire suppression or aerial surveillance services. The integrated firefighting services that we perform under each contract represent a single performance obligation satisfied over time, as a series of distinct time increments.
Our firefighting contracts generally provide for payment on a day rate basis. Such activities consist of standby and flight time. Standby rates are charged daily when aircraft is available for use at a fire base, awaiting request from the customer for flight deployment. Flight time is charged hourly when the engines of the aircraft are started and stopped upon request of the customer. The amounts billed to the customer are determined based on varying rates applicable to the specific activities performed on a daily basis. Such consideration is allocated to the distinct daily increment it relates to within the contract and therefore, recognized as we perform the daily firefighting services on the contract.
We measure progress in a manner that depicts the performance of transferring control to the customer. As such, we utilize the output method to recognize revenue over time as this depicts the Company’s performance toward complete satisfaction of the performance obligation. As the Company has a right to consideration from customers in an amount that corresponds directly with the value to the customer of the Company’s performance completed to date, the Company has applied the practical expedient to recognize revenue in the amount to which we have the right to invoice. We have elected to exclude from the transaction price all taxes assessed by governmental and foreign authorities.
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MRO revenues
Maintenance repair revenue consists of maintenance repair and return-to-service work performed on customer aircraft. The Company commonly contracts with third-parties to perform certain repair and return-to-service work. The Company considers itself the principal in these arrangements as we control the timing and nature of the services ultimately provided by the third-party to the customer.
Each maintenance contract consists of integrated repair and return-to-service activities that are highly interdependent, and therefore, represent a single performance obligation. For contracts with multiple performance obligations, the Company allocates the contract’s transaction price to each performance obligation using the best estimate of the standalone selling price of each distinct good or service in the contract. The primary method used to estimate standalone selling price is the expected-cost-plus-margin approach, under which the Company forecasts the expected costs of satisfying a performance obligation and then adds an appropriate margin for that distinct good or service.
The Company satisfies the underlying performance obligations over time as either the customer obtains control or receives benefits as work is performed on the contract, or the products we are building are assets with no alternative use and we have an enforceable right to payment. As a result, under ASC 606, revenue is recognized over time using the cost-to-cost method (cost incurred relative to total estimated cost at completion).
Contract estimates
Actual revenues and project costs may vary from previous estimates due to changes in a variety of factors. The cost estimation process is based upon the professional knowledge and experience of our engineers, project managers and financial professionals. Factors that are considered in estimating the work to be completed and ultimate contract recovery include the availability and productivity of labor, the nature and complexity of the work to be performed, the availability of materials, and the effect of any delays on our project performance. We periodically review our job performance, job conditions, estimated profitability and final contract settlements, including our estimate of total costs and make revisions to costs and income in the period in which the revisions are probable and reasonably estimable. We bear the risk of cost overruns in most of our contracts, which may result in reduced profits. Whenever revisions of estimated contract costs and contract values indicate that the contract costs will exceed estimated revenues, thus creating a loss, a provision for the total estimated loss is recorded in that period. Contracts can be modified to account for changes in contract specifications and requirements. Contract modifications are considered to exist when the modification either creates new or changes the existing enforceable rights and obligations. Most of the Company’s contract modifications are for goods or services that are not distinct from the existing contract due to the significant integration service provided in the context of the contract and are accounted for as if they were part of that existing contract. The effect of a contract modification on the transaction price, and the measure of progress for the performance obligation to which it relates, is recognized as an adjustment to revenue (either as an increase in or a reduction of revenue) on a cumulative catch-up basis. Total cumulative catch-up adjustments were not material for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Other revenues
Other revenue primarily consists of training services and lease revenue when we lease our owned aircraft to third parties, typically on an hourly or daily basis. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, we had of $4.9 million and $0.9 million, respectively.
Contract assets & liabilities
The timing of revenue recognition, customer billings, and cash collections results in a contract asset or contract liability at the end of each reporting period. For instances where we recognize revenue prior to having an unconditional right to payment, we record a contract asset. When an unconditional right to consideration exists, we reduce our contract asset and recognize an unbilled or trade receivable. When amounts are dependent on factors other than the passage of time in order for payment from a customer to be due, we record a contract asset which consists of costs incurred where revenue recognized over time using the cost-to-cost model exceeds the amounts billed to customers. Contract assets are recorded as unbilled receivables within Accounts and note receivable in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. Contract liabilities include advance payments and billings in excess of revenue recognized. Contract liabilities are recorded as deferred revenue within Accrued expenses and other current liabilities in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. Certain customers make advance payments prior to the satisfaction of our performance obligations on the contract. These amounts are recorded as contract liabilities until such performance obligations are satisfied over time as costs are incurred. Contract assets and contract liabilities are determined on a contract-by-contract basis.
Payment terms vary by customer and type of revenue contract. The Company generally expects that the period of time between payment and transfer of promised goods or services will be less than one year. In such instances, the Company has elected the practical expedient to not evaluate whether a significant financing component exists.
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Net contract assets are as follows:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||
| $s in thousands | 2024 | |||||||
| Contract assets | $ | |||||||
| Contract liabilities | ||||||||
| Net contract assets | $ | |||||||
The Company did not have contract assets or liabilities as of January 1, 2023 or December 31, 2023, thus there was no revenue recognized for the year ended December 31, 2024 that was previously recognized in contract liabilities.
Changes in the balances of the Company’s contract assets and liabilities primarily result from timing differences between revenue recognition and customer billings and/or payments. There were no significant impairment losses related to any receivables or contract assets arising from the Company’s contracts with customers during the year ended December 31, 2024.
As of December 31, 2024, the Company has remaining unsatisfied performance obligations of $8.1 million, of which the entire balance is expected to be recognized as revenue within the next twelve months .
Contract costs
The Company has not incurred incremental costs for obtaining contracts with customers. In addition, the Company evaluates whether or not it should capitalize the costs of fulfilling a contract. Such costs would be capitalized when they are not within the scope of other standards and: (1) are directly related to a contract; (2) generate or enhance resources that will be used to satisfy performance obligations; and (3) are expected to be recovered. The Company has elected to use the practical expedient detailed in ASC 340-40, Other Assets and Deferred Costs-Contracts with Customers, to expense any costs to fulfill a contract as they are incurred when the amortization period would be one year or less.
Revenue Disaggregation
The following table presents the disaggregation of revenue by service:
| For the years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Fire suppression | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Aerial surveillance | ||||||||||||||
| MRO | ||||||||||||||
| Other services | ||||||||||||||
| Total revenues | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| For the Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| United States | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Spain | ||||||||||||||
| Canada | ||||||||||||||
| Total revenues | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
Concentration Risk
The Company had two customers who individually accounted for 61 % and 12 % of total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2024, and three customers who individually accounted for 65 %, 12 % and 11 % of total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023. The Company had three customers who individually accounted for 42 %, 17 % and 13 % of total accounts receivable as of December 31, 2024, and three customers who individually accounted for 39 %, 34 % and 19 % of total accounts receivable as of December 31, 2023.
Income Taxes
For periods prior to the Reverse Recapitalization, Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, LLC is a partnership for federal income tax purposes. Consequently, federal income taxes were not payable or provided for by Legacy Bridger. Members were taxed individually on their pro rata ownership share of the Legacy Bridger’s earnings. Legacy Bridger’s net income or loss was allocated among the members in accordance with the Company’s operating agreement.
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Subsequent to the Reverse Recapitalization, Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. became the successor of Legacy Bridger as discussed in “Note 1 – Organization and Basis of Presentation” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Bridger is subject to U.S. federal income taxes, in addition to state and local income taxes, with respect to net taxable income or loss and any related tax credits of the Company. Bridger is also subject to taxes in foreign jurisdictions in which it operates.
The Company provides for income taxes and the related accounts under the asset and liability method. Income tax benefit, deferred tax assets and liabilities and reserves for unrecognized tax benefits reflect management’s best assessment of estimated current and future taxes to be paid. The Company is subject to income taxes predominantly in the U.S. These tax laws are often complex and may be subject to different interpretations.
Deferred income taxes arise from temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amount and the tax basis of assets and liabilities and are measured using the enacted tax rates expected to be in effect during the year in which the basis difference reverses. In evaluating the ability to recover its deferred tax assets within the jurisdiction from which they arise, the Company considers all available positive and negative evidence. If based upon all available positive and negative evidence, it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will not be realized, a valuation allowance is established. The valuation allowance may be reversed in a subsequent reporting period if Bridger determines that it is more likely than not that all or part of the deferred tax asset will become realizable.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000. During the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company did not experience losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.
Hedging Transactions and Derivative Financial Instruments
The Company is directly and indirectly affected by changes in certain market conditions. These changes in market conditions may adversely impact the Company’s financial performance and are referred to as “market risks.” The Company, when deemed appropriate, uses derivatives as a risk management tool to mitigate the potential impact of certain market risks. The Company manages interest rate risk through the use of derivative instruments, such as swap agreements. A swap agreement is a contract between two parties to exchange cash flows based on specified underlying notional amounts, assets and/or indices. The Company does not enter into derivative financial instruments for trading purposes.
The accounting for gains and losses that result from changes in the fair values of derivative instruments depends on whether the derivatives have been designated and qualify as hedging instruments and the type of hedging relationships. The changes in fair values of derivatives that have been designated and qualify as cash flow hedges are recorded in Accumulated other comprehensive income and are reclassified into the line item in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive loss in which the hedged items are recorded in the same period the hedged items affect earnings. In addition, settlements on cash flow hedges are recorded in the same section of the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows as the underlying nature of the hedged item.
The Company formally assesses whether the financial instruments used in hedging transactions are effective at offsetting changes in either the fair values or cash flows of the related underlying exposures. Any ineffective portion of a financial instrument’s change in fair value is immediately recognized into earnings. The fair value is based on prevailing market data and using standard valuation models based on reasonable estimates about future relevant market conditions. Refer to “Note 15 – Long-Term Debt” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The notional amounts of the derivative financial instruments do not necessarily represent amounts exchanged by the parties and, therefore, are not a direct measure of the Company’s exposure to the financial risks described above.
(Loss) Earnings Per Share
Basic (loss) earnings per share is based on the weighted average number of shares of Common Stock outstanding during the period. Diluted loss per share is based on the weighted average number of shares of Common Stock used for the basic (loss) earnings per share calculation, adjusted for the dilutive effect of restricted stock units (“RSUs”), Warrants and Incentive Units, if any, using the “treasury stock” method, the Series A Preferred Stock that is convertible into shares of Common Stock, and the Sponsor Earnout Shares that will fully vest upon certain stock price metrics being achieved. In addition, loss for diluted loss per share is adjusted for the after-tax impact of changes to the fair value of the Warrants, to the extent they are dilutive.
78
As noted above, the Company accounted for the Closing as a reverse recapitalization. (Loss) Earnings per share calculations for all periods prior to the Closing have been retrospectively adjusted by the Exchange Ratio for the equivalent number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after the Closing to effect the reverse recapitalization. Subsequent to the Closing, (loss) earnings per share is calculated based on the weighted average number of shares of Common Stock outstanding.
Stock-Based Compensation
The Company accounts for its stock-based compensation in accordance with ASC 718, Compensation-Stock Compensation.
Legacy Bridger granted Incentive Units which contain service and performance vesting conditions to select board members and an executive officer. Compensation cost for Incentive Units is measured at their grant-date fair value and is equal to the value of the Legacy Bridger’s Class D Common shares, which was estimated using an option pricing model. Compensation cost for service-based units is recognized over the requisite service period on a straight-line basis. For performance related units, expense is recognized when the performance related condition is considered probable.
In connection with the Closing, the Company along with the Board established and approved and assumed the Omnibus Plan which allowed the Company to grant RSUs to Bridger employees (the “Participants”). Upon satisfying the vesting conditions, each RSU provides the Participants the right to receive one share of Common Stock. The fair value of RSUs is determined based on the number of shares granted and the quoted market price of the Common Stock on the date of grant. Compensation cost for the RSUs is recognized as the performance condition of the Closing of the transaction was met and over the requisite service period based on the graded-vesting method. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur. Stock-based compensation is included in both Cost of revenues and Selling, general and administrative expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU No. 2024-03, Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income—Expense Disaggregation Disclosures. This update enhances annual and interim disclosures, in the notes to financial statements, of specified information about certain costs and expenses. This new guidance is effective for the Company for its fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2026, and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2027. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting the new accounting guidance on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures. This update enhances the transparency and decision usefulness of income tax disclosures to provide investors information to better assess how an entity’s operations and related tax risks and tax planning and operational opportunities affect its tax rate and prospects for future cash flows. This new guidance is effective for the Company for its fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting the new accounting guidance on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.
In October 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-06, Disclosure Improvements: Codification Amendments in Response to the SEC’s Disclosure Update and Simplification Initiative. This update modifies the disclosure or presentation requirements of a variety of topics in the codification. The effective date for each amendment will be the date on with the SEC’s removal of that related disclosure from Regulation S-X or Regulation S-K becomes effective. Early adoption is prohibited. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting the new accounting guidance on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.
Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements
In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures, requiring public entities to disclose information about their reportable segments’ significant expenses and other segment items on an interim and annual basis. Public entities with a single reportable segment are required to apply the disclosure requirements in ASU 2023-07, as well as all existing segment disclosures and reconciliation requirements in ASC 280 on an interim and annual basis. The Company adopted ASU 2023-07 during the year ended December 31, 2024. Refer to “Note 23 – Segment and Geographic Information” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further detail.
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NOTE 3 – SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION
| For the Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Interest paid | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Non-cash investing and financing activities: | ||||||||||||||
| Fixed assets in accounts payable | ||||||||||||||
| Conversion of promissory note to Common Stock | ||||||||||||||
| Series A Preferred Stock - adjustment for deemed dividend upon Closing | ||||||||||||||
| Series A Preferred Stock - adjustment to eliminate 50% multiplier | ||||||||||||||
| Series A Preferred Stock - adjustment to maximum redemption value | ||||||||||||||
| Purchase consideration of FMS acquisition paid in Common Stock | ||||||||||||||
Purchase consideration of Ignis acquisition paid in Common Stock (Note 12) | ||||||||||||||
| Recognition of new right-of-use asset and corresponding operating lease liability | ||||||||||||||
| Assumption of JCIC liabilities | ||||||||||||||
| Recognition of Warrant liabilities | ||||||||||||||
| Bonuses paid in Common Stock | ||||||||||||||
| Cancellation of deferred underwriting fee | ||||||||||||||
NOTE 4 – CASH EQUIVALENTS AND INVESTMENTS IN MARKETABLE SECURITIES
The investments in marketable securities are classified as available-for-sale debt securities with short-term maturities of less than one year. The fair values, gross unrealized gains of the available-for-sale securities by type are as follows:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | Carrying Value | |||||||||||||
| Cash equivalents: | ||||||||||||||
| Commercial paper | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Money market fund | ||||||||||||||
| Total cash equivalents | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Restricted cash: | ||||||||||||||
| Money market fund | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| As of December 31, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | Purchase Price | Unrealized Gains | Fair Value | |||||||||||||||||
| Investments in marketable securities: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Government securities | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total investments in marketable securities | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
The Company did no t have any investments in marketable securities as of December 31, 2024.
The net unrealized gain included in Accumulated other comprehensive income for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 are zero and $0.2 million, respectively.
The proceeds from sales of available-for-sale securities and gross realized gains included in earnings for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 are $1.1 million and $16,000 , respectively, and $55.4 million and $0.8 million, respectively. The Company determines gains and losses using the first-in first-out method. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company reclassified out of Accumulated other comprehensive income a loss of $30,000 and a gain of $0.6 million, respectively.
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NOTE 5 – ACCOUNTS AND NOTE RECEIVABLE
Accounts and note receivable consist of the following:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Trade accounts receivable | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Unbilled receivable | ||||||||||||||
| Foreign tax receivable | ||||||||||||||
| Note receivable | ||||||||||||||
| Other | ||||||||||||||
| Total accounts and note receivable | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
Substantially all accounts receivable at December 31, 2024, are expected to be collected in 2025. The Company does not believe it has significant exposure to credit risk, as accounts receivable and the related unbilled amounts are primarily from contracts associated with the U.S. Government. Unbilled receivable consists of earned revenue that has not yet been billed specific to FMS cost to cost contracts as described in “Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. On September 5, 2023, the Company entered into a secured promissory note in the amount of $3.0 million. This note accrues interest at a rate of 8.5 % per annum and was paid in January 2024. Foreign tax receivable consists primarily of value-added taxes charged by the Spanish government.
NOTE 6 – AIRCRAFT SUPPORT PARTS
Aircraft support parts consist of the following:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Repairables and expendables | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Other | ||||||||||||||
| Total aircraft support parts | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
NOTE 7 – PREPAID EXPENSES AND OTHER CURRENT ASSETS
Prepaid expenses and other current assets consist of the following:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Prepaid insurance | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Prepaid subscriptions | ||||||||||||||
| Deposits | ||||||||||||||
| Other | ||||||||||||||
| Total prepaid expenses and other current assets | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
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NOTE 8 – PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT, NET
Property, plant and equipment, net consist of the following:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Aircraft | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Less: Accumulated depreciation | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Aircraft, net | ||||||||||||||
| Leasehold improvements | ||||||||||||||
| Buildings | ||||||||||||||
| Vehicles and equipment | ||||||||||||||
| Capitalized software and development costs | ||||||||||||||
| Construction-in-progress - Leasehold improvements | ||||||||||||||
| Finance lease right-of-use-asset | ||||||||||||||
| Licenses | ||||||||||||||
| Less: Accumulated depreciation | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Buildings and equipment, net | ||||||||||||||
| Total property, plant and equipment, net | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company recorded $14.5 million and $2.3 million of depreciation expense in Cost of revenues and Selling, general and administrative expense, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recorded $9.6 million and $1.3 million of depreciation expense in Cost of revenues and Selling, general and administrative expense, respectively.
Aircraft are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset or asset group may not be recoverable. In 2023, the Company noted that increasing maintenance costs associated with one of our Twin Commander aircraft indicated that this aircraft was not a viable contract operating plane, resulting in anticipated cash flow losses as a result of being unable to generate revenues from this aircraft. The Company believed the lack of cash flow and continued maintenance expenditures render the carrying amount of the aircraft unrecoverable. For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company recorded no impairment charges. For the year ended December 31, 2023, associated impairment charges of $2.4 million in Selling, general and administrative expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company recorded losses on disposals of assets of $0.4 million and $1.2 million, respectively, in Selling, general and administrative expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, capitalized interest to equipment from debt financing was zero and $1.2 million, respectively.
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NOTE 9 – ACQUISITION ACTIVITY
2024 Acquisition Activity
On June 28, 2024, the Company completed the acquisition of all the outstanding equity interests of Flight Test & Mechanical Solutions, Inc. (“FMS” and the “FMS Acquisition”), a turn-key provider of integration solutions for government and commercial customers including instrumentation, flight testing and airworthiness certification, for total initially estimated consideration of $21.2 million, payable in unregistered shares of Bridger’s Common Stock, with $19.0 million fair value of Common Stock consideration paid at closing to the former stockholders of FMS (consisting of 3,728,945 restricted shares of Common Stock determined based upon a volume-weighted average per-share price (“VWAP”) of the Common Stock for the 90 consecutive trading days ended June 27, 2024). The shares issued at close were issued at the fair value upon the closing date. The remaining $2.2 million of fair value Common Stock consideration that is contingent upon the achievement of certain earnout conditions and, assuming achievement of such conditions, will be issued to the former stockholders of FMS in 2025 and 2026 with the price per share determined based upon a trailing 90-day VWAP of the Common Stock at the time of each issuance. During the measurement period, the Company revised the total purchase consideration of the FMS Acquisition due to changes in working capital adjustments, closing price adjustments and a deferred tax liability adjustment. As a result, total consideration decreased by $4.8 million. These adjustments resulted in a corresponding decrease in goodwill of $4.0 million. The maximum number shares of Common Stock issuable to the former FMS stockholders as contingent earnout consideration will not exceed 5,892,509 shares in the aggregate. All of the shares of Common Stock to be issued in the FMS Acquisition will be subject to transfer restrictions for an 18-month period after each issuance, with the transfer restrictions expiring with respect to 1/18th of the total shares of Common Stock each month over the 18-month period following such issuance.
None of the shares of Common Stock issued or issuable in connection with the FMS Acquisition were registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), on the FMS Acquisition date in reliance on the exemption from registration provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. Recipients of shares of Common Stock in connection with the FMS Acquisition will have customary resale registration rights with respect to such shares of Common Stock pursuant to the terms and conditions of the FMS Acquisition.
The Company accounted for the FMS Acquisition under the acquisition method of accounting and has reported the results of operations of the FMS Acquisition as of the respective date of the FMS Acquisition. The Company based the estimated fair values of intangible assets on an income approach utilizing the relief from royalties and excess earnings methods. The income approach utilizes management’s estimates of future operating results and cash flows using a weighted average cost of capital that reflects market participant assumptions. For all other assets acquired and liabilities assumed, the fair value reflects the carrying value of the asset or liability due to their short maturity. The Company recorded the excess of the fair value of the consideration transferred in the FMS Acquisition over the fair value of net assets acquired as goodwill. The goodwill reflects our expectations of favorable future growth opportunities.
The Company has not presented pro forma combined results for the FMS Acquisition because the impact on previously reported statements of operations was not material.
The Company has performed a preliminary valuation analysis of the fair market value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the FMS Acquisition. The preliminary purchase price allocation will be subject to further refinement as management continues to implement the Company’s accounting policies and refine its estimates and assumptions based on the information available at the acquisition date. The allocations of acquired intangible assets, goodwill, deferred taxes, and the analysis around revenue and accounting policy alignment are being finalized. These refinements may result in material changes to the estimated fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed. The estimated useful lives of acquired intangible assets are also preliminary. The final purchase price allocation will be determined when the Company has completed and fully reviewed the detailed valuations. The purchase price allocation adjustments can be made throughout the end of the Company’s measurement period, which is not to exceed one year from the acquisition date.
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The following tables summarizes the FMS Acquisition consideration and the preliminary fair value estimates of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, recognized at the date of the FMS Acquisition, with preliminary purchase price allocation adjustments since the preliminary purchase price allocation as previously disclosed as of June 30, 2024:
| $s in thousands | As of June 30, 2024 | Net Working Capital Adjustment | Closing Price Adjustment | As of December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Common Stock | $ | $ | — | $ | ( | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Working Capital Excess Shares | — | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closing Cash Shares Adjustment | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accrued Dividends Payable Adjustment | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Earnout Shares | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total purchase price | $ | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | As of June 30, 2024 | Adjustments | As of December 31, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | ||||||||||||||||||||
Accounts receivable1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Aircraft support parts | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Property, plant and equipment | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Intangible assets | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other noncurrent assets | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Accounts payable | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dividends payable | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||||||
| Deferred revenue | ( | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operating right-of-use current liability | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operating right-of-use noncurrent liability | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||||||
| Deferred tax liability | ( | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||||
| Total identifiable net assets | ( | |||||||||||||||||||
| Goodwill | ( | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total purchase price | $ | $ | ( | $ | ||||||||||||||||
1 Balance includes $1.0 million in unbilled receivable. Fair value of accounts receivable approximates the contractual amount.
Purchase price allocation adjustments related primarily to net working capital, closing price and deferred tax liability adjustments.
Goodwill of $7.6 million arising from the FMS Acquisition is primarily attributable to the assembled workforce of FMS and expected synergies from combining operations. None of the acquired goodwill is expected to be deductible for income tax purposes. Acquired intangible assets consist of the following:
•Trade name: expected to be amortized over its useful life of 9.5 years as of the date of the FMS Acquisition. The fair value of the trade name was determined using the relief from royalty method.
•Customer relationships: expected to be amortized over its useful life of 3.5 years as of the date of the FMS Acquisition. The fair value of the customer relationships were determined using the multi-period excess earnings method.
•Contracts: expected to be amortized over its useful life of 5.5 years when placed into service. The fair value of the contracts were determined using the multi-period excess earnings method.
The transaction costs related to the acquisition were not material. The operating results of the acquisition have been included in the Company’s results of operations from the effective date of the acquisition. The amounts of revenue and operating loss of FMS included in the Company’s condensed consolidated statement of operations for the year end December 31, 2024 were $3.0 million and $0.9 million, respectively.
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2023 Acquisition Activity
On September 12, 2023, the Company completed the acquisition of all outstanding equity interests of Ignis Technologies, Inc. (“Ignis” and the “Ignis Acquisition”), a fire technology company developing mission-critical intelligence and technology solutions for firefighting organizations, for total consideration of $11.6 million, payable in unregistered shares of Bridger’s Common Stock, consisting of $3.3 million payable at closing. At closing, 426,531 restricted shares of Common Stock were issued to the Ignis shareholders (determined based upon a VWAP) of the Common Stock for the 30 consecutive trading days ended September 11, 2023). The remaining $8.3 million of Common Stock consideration is contingent upon the achievement of certain operational milestones and, assuming achievement of such milestones, will be issued to the Ignis shareholders in 2025 and 2026, with the price per share determined based upon a trailing 120-day VWAP of the Common Stock at the time of each issuance. The maximum number of shares of Common Stock issuable to the Ignis shareholders as contingent earnout consideration will not exceed 8,399,198 shares in the aggregate. All of the shares of Common Stock to be issued in the Ignis Acquisition will be subject to transfer restrictions for a 12-month period after each issuance, with 1/12th of the total shares of Common Stock vesting each month over the one-year period after each issuance.
During 2024, certain performance conditions were met, resulting in a total settlement payment of $4.0 million, which was settled in shares on June 30, 2024. The excess over the initial fair value estimate was recorded as an expense in acquisition related costs in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. As of December 31, 2024, there is $3.7 million remaining of contingent consideration obligations related to the acquisition.
None of the shares of Common Stock issued or issuable in connection with the Ignis Acquisition were registered under the Securities Act on the Ignis Acquisition date in reliance on the exemption from registration provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. Recipients of shares of Common Stock in connection with the Ignis Acquisition will have customary resale registration rights with respect to such shares of Common Stock pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Ignis Acquisition.
The Company accounted for the Ignis Acquisition under the acquisition method of accounting and has reported the results of operations of the Ignis Acquisition as of the respective date of the Ignis Acquisition. The Company based the estimated fair values of intangible assets on an income approach utilizing the relief from royalties model. The income approach utilizes management’s estimates of future operating results and cash flows using a weighted average cost of capital that reflects market participant assumptions. For all other assets acquired and liabilities assumed, the fair value reflects the carrying value of the asset or liability due to their short maturity. The Company recorded the excess of the fair value of the consideration transferred in the Ignis Acquisition over the fair value of net assets acquired as goodwill. The goodwill reflects our expectations of favorable future growth opportunities. The Company expects that substantially all of the goodwill will not be deductible for federal income tax purposes.
The Company has not presented pro forma combined results for the Ignis Acquisition because the impact on previously reported statements of operations was not material.
As of December 31, 2023, the Company finalized the purchase accounting for the Ignis Acquisition. The following table summarizes the final purchase price allocation:
| $s in thousands | Purchase Price Allocation | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | |||||||
| Intangible assets | ||||||||
| Accounts payable | ( | |||||||
| Long-term accrued expenses and other noncurrent liabilities | ( | |||||||
| Deferred tax liability | ( | |||||||
| Total identifiable net assets | ||||||||
| Goodwill | ||||||||
| Total purchase price | $ | |||||||
Goodwill of $10.7 million arising from the Ignis Acquisition is primarily attributable to the assembled workforce of Ignis and expected synergies from combining operations. None of the acquired goodwill is expected to be deductible for income tax purposes. Acquired intangible assets consist entirely of in-process research and development (“IPR&D”) and is expected to be amortized over its useful life of five years when placed into service. The Company concluded that the IPR&D is an identifiable intangible asset that would be accounted for as a single asset in a business combination. The fair value of the IPR&D was determined using an income approach based on significant unobservable inputs.
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NOTE 10 – GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS, NET
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 were as follows:
| $s in thousands | Goodwill | |||||||
| As of December 31, 2022 | $ | |||||||
| Addition from Ignis Acquisition | ||||||||
| Measurement period adjustment | ||||||||
| As of December 31, 2023 | $ | |||||||
| Addition from FMS Acquisition | ||||||||
| Measurement period adjustment | ( | |||||||
| As of December 31, 2024 | $ | |||||||
Intangible assets consisted of the following:
| As of December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | Estimated Life (Years) | Cost | Accumulated Amortization | Net | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Contracts | $ | $ | ( | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| IPR&D | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Trade name | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Customer relationships | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Licenses | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Internal-use software | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total intangible assets | $ | $ | ( | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| As of December 31, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | Estimated Life (Years) | Cost | Accumulated Amortization | Net | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| IPR&D | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Internal-use software | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Licenses | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total intangible assets | $ | $ | ( | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
IPR&D is the historical know-how, software, formula protocols, designs and procedures expected to be needed to complete the development of the technology asset and receive regulatory approval. The Company expects to amortize the IPR&D over its useful life of five years when placed into service. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company capitalized costs of $1.2 million and $0.3 million, respectively, related to IPR&D.
Amortization expense for intangible assets and other noncurrent assets was $0.7 million and $0.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Amortization expense is included in Selling, general and administrative expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Future amortization expense for intangible assets subject to amortization is expected to be as follows:
| $s in thousands | Expected Amortization | |||||||
| 2025 | $ | |||||||
| 2026 | ||||||||
| 2027 | ||||||||
| 2028 | ||||||||
| 2029 | ||||||||
| Thereafter | ||||||||
| Total | $ | |||||||
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NOTE 11 – OTHER NONCURRENT ASSETS
Other noncurrent assets consisted of the following:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use asset | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Investment in MAB | ||||||||||||||
| Prepaid subscriptions | ||||||||||||||
| Interest rate swap | ||||||||||||||
| Investment in Overwatch Imaging, Inc. | ||||||||||||||
| Other | ||||||||||||||
| Total other noncurrent assets | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
NOTE 12 – ACCRUED EXPENSES AND OTHER LIABILITIES
Accrued expenses and other liabilities consisted of the following:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Accrued interest expense | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Contingent consideration | ||||||||||||||
| Deferred revenue | ||||||||||||||
| Accrued salaries, wages and bonuses | ||||||||||||||
| Deferred underwriting fee payable | ||||||||||||||
| Warrant liabilities | ||||||||||||||
| Accrued foreign tax | ||||||||||||||
| Finance right-of-use liability | ||||||||||||||
| Embedded derivative of Series A Preferred Stock | ||||||||||||||
| Accrued professional fees | ||||||||||||||
| Other | ||||||||||||||
| Total accrued expenses and other liabilities | ||||||||||||||
| Less: Current accrued expenses and other current liabilities | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Total long-term accrued expenses and other noncurrent liabilities | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
Warrant liabilities
The warrant liabilities consist of the following Warrants issued by the Company in connection with the Reverse Recapitalization:
Public Warrants
The Company issued Public Warrants to purchase 17,250,000 shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share in exchange for the 17,250,000 JCIC warrants originally issued by JCIC in its initial public offering. The Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares of Common Stock. The exercise price and number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants may also be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a share dividend, recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. In no event will the Company be required to net cash settle any Warrant.
The Warrants became exercisable 30 days following the Reverse Recapitalization and will expire January 24, 2028.
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Under certain circumstances, the Company may elect to redeem the Public Warrants at a redemption price of $0.01 per Public Warrant at any time during the term of the warrant in which the Common Stock trading price has been at least $18.00 per share for 20 trading days within the 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the Warrant holders. If the Company elects to redeem the Public Warrants, it must notify the Public Warrant holders in advance, who would then have at least 30 days from the date of notification to exercise their respective warrants. If the warrant is not exercised within that 30 -day period, it will be redeemed pursuant to this provision. The Company may also elect to redeem the outstanding Warrants at a redemption price of $0.10 per Warrant at any time during the term of the Warrant in which the Common Stock trading price is between $10.00 per share and $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganization, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within the 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the Warrant holders. In such case, the Warrant holders will be able to exercise their Warrants on a cashless basis prior to the redemption for a number of shares of our Common Stock determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of the Common Stock.
As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, 17,249,874 0.7 million and $3.6 million, respectively, and a fair value of $0.04 and $0.21 per warrant as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Private Placement Warrants
The Company issued Private Placement Warrants to purchase 9,400,000 shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share in exchange for the 9,400,000 JCIC warrants originally purchased in a private placement by JCIC Sponsor, LLC (“JCIC Sponsor”) contemporaneously with JCIC’s initial public offering. JCIC Sponsor, or its permitted transferees, has the option to exercise the Private Placement Warrants on a cashless basis. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by holders other than JCIC Sponsor or its permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.
As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company had 9,400,000 9,400,000 0.4 million and $2.0 million, respectively, and a fair value of $0.04 and $0.21 per warrant as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Contingent consideration
The Company assumed contingent consideration as part of the FMS Acquisition and Ignis Acquisition (collectively, the “Acquisitions”) discussed in “Note 9 – Acquisition Activity” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The Company is required to make contingent payments to the sellers based on the achievement of certain operational milestones, in the case of the Ignis Acquisition, and based on the achievement of certain earnout conditions, in the case of the FMS Acquisition. The fair value of the liability for the contingent payments was recognized upon the Acquisitions as part of the purchase accounting opening balance sheet. The initial cost was recognized at fair value on the closing date with subsequent changes in estimated fair value recognized as Selling, general and administrative expenses in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company recognized $3.4 million and $4.8 million, respectively, in Accrued expenses and other current liabilities and $2.8 million and $3.6 million, respectively, in Long-term accrued expenses and other noncurrent liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
The change in contingent consideration for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 was as follows:
| $s in thousands | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Contingent consideration, beginning of period | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Addition of contingent consideration from FMS Acquisition | ||||||||||||||
| Addition of contingent consideration from Ignis Acquisition | ||||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of contingent consideration | ( | |||||||||||||
| Settlement of contingent consideration | ( | |||||||||||||
| Contingent consideration, end of period | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
NOTE 13 – INTEREST RATE SWAP
The Company assesses interest rate cash flow risk by continually identifying and monitoring changes in interest rate exposures that may adversely affect expected future cash flows and by evaluating hedging opportunities.
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The Company entered an interest rate swap with Rocky Mountain Bank, now known as Citywide Banks (“CWB”) on March 12, 2020 to reduce risk related to variable-rate debt from the term loan, which was subject to changes in market rates of interest as discussed in “Note 15 – Long-Term Debt” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The interest rate swap is designated as a cash flow hedge. The Company records its corresponding derivative asset on a gross basis in Other noncurrent assets at fair value on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
Each month, the Company made interest payments to CWB under its loan agreement based on the current applicable one-month LIBOR rate plus the contractual LIBOR margin then in effect with respect to the term loan, without reflecting the interest rate swap until June 30, 2023. Effective July 1, 2023, LIBOR was replaced by 1-month CME Term Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) plus 0.11448 % tenor spread adjustment plus the 2.5 % contractual SOFR margin then in effect with respect to the term loan. At the end of each calendar month, the Company receives or makes payments on the interest rate swap difference, if any, based on the received interest rate set forth in the table below. Interest payments on the Company’s term loan and payments received or made on the interest rate swap are reported net on the Consolidated Statements of Operations as interest expense.
The Company had the following interest rate swap designated as a cash flow hedge ($s in thousands):
| As of December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Effective Date | Maturity Date | Notional Amount | Fair Value | Pay Fixed | Receive Rate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4/15/2020 | 3/15/2030 | $ | $ | % | 1 Month SOFR + | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| As of December 31, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Effective Date | Maturity Date | Notional Amount | Fair Value | Pay Fixed | Receive Rate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4/15/2020 | 3/15/2030 | $ | $ | % | 1 Month LIBOR + | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Company accounts for the interest rate swap as a cash flow hedge for accounting purposes under GAAP. The Company reflects the effect of this hedging transaction in the Consolidated Financial Statements. The unrealized loss is reported in Other comprehensive income (loss). If the Company terminates the interest rate swap agreement, the cumulative change in fair value at the date of termination would be reclassified from Accumulated other comprehensive income, which is classified in stockholders’ deficit, into earnings in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
NOTE 14 – FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
Long-term debt
As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company has $160.2 48.3 million and $51.2 million, respectively, of variable rate debt outstanding. Based on current market rates, the fair value of the fixed rate debt as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, was estimated to be $173.2 million and $174.7 million, respectively. The Company estimated the fair value of the fixed rate debt using quoted market prices (Level 2 inputs) within the fair value hierarchy. When valuing fixed rate debt, the fair value is capped at par value. The variable rate debt approximates fair value based on the closing or estimated market prices of similar securities comparable to the Company’s debts as of December 31, 2024 and 2023. Debt financing activities and loan agreements are further described in “Note 15 – Long-Term Debt” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details.
Recurring Fair Value Measurement
Our cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses and other current assets and liabilities (excluding derivative instruments) are carried at amounts which reasonably approximate their fair values due to their short-term nature.
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The following tables summarizes the Company’s assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis, by level, within the fair value hierarchy:
| As of December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Assets | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
| Restricted cash: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Money market fund | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total restricted cash | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest rate swap | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total assets | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
| Liabilities | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Warrant liabilities - Public Warrants | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
| Warrant liabilities - Private Placement Warrants | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Contingent consideration | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total liabilities | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
| As of December 31, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ($s in thousands) | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Assets | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
| Restricted cash: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Money market fund | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total restricted cash | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Investments in marketable securities | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest rate swap | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total assets | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
| Liabilities | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Warrant liabilities - Public Warrants | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
| Warrant liabilities - Private Placement Warrants | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Contingent consideration | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Embedded derivative of Series A Preferred Stock | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total liabilities | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
Interest Rate Swap
The Company’s derivative financial instruments are measured at fair value on a recurring basis based on quoted market prices or using standard valuation models as described in “Note 13 – Interest Rate Swap” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The notional amounts of the derivative financial instruments do not necessarily represent amounts exchanged by the parties and, therefore, are not a direct measure of our exposure to the financial risks described in “Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The fair value of the Company’s interest rate swap agreement was determined based on the present value of expected future cash flows using discount rates appropriate with the terms of the swap agreement. The fair value indicates an estimated amount the Company would be required to receive if the contracts were canceled or transferred to other parties. The Company calculates the fair value of interest rate swap agreement quarterly based on the quoted market price for the same or similar financial instruments.
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Embedded derivative of Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares and Series A Preferred Stock
The Company identified a redemption feature of the Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares that required bifurcation from the host instrument as an embedded derivative liability. The embedded derivative was initially valued and remeasured using a “with-and-without” method. The “with-and-without” methodology involved valuing the entire instrument both with and without the embedded derivative using a discounted cash flow approach. Under this methodology, the difference in the estimated fair value between the instrument with the embedded derivative and the instrument without the embedded derivative represents the estimated fair value of the embedded derivative. This valuation methodology is based on unobservable estimates and judgements, and therefore is classified as a Level 3 fair value measurement. The significant unobservable input used in the estimated fair value measurement of the embedded derivative is the timing for which the Company may be in default of certain financing facilities that would require an increase of 2 % interest per annum to be accrued by the holders of the Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares.
Commercial Paper and Investments in marketable securities
The fair values of the commercial paper and available-for-sale marketable securities are based on observable market prices, and therefore classified as a Level 2 fair value measurement. Refer to “Note 4 – Cash Equivalents and Investment in Marketable Securities” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details.
Warrant Liabilities
The Company issued Warrants in connection with the Reverse Recapitalization. The Company classifies the Warrants as liabilities at their fair value and adjust the Warrants to fair value at each reporting period. The warrant liabilities are subject to remeasurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value are recorded in earnings through Selling, general and administrative expense on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
The Public Warrants are publicly traded under the symbol “BAERW,” and the fair value of the Public Warrants at a specific date is determined by the closing price of the Public Warrants as of that date. Therefore, the Public Warrants are classified as Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy. The Public Warrants are redeemable at any time during the term of the warrant in which the Common Stock share trading price has been at least $18.00 per share for 20 trading days within the 30 trading-day period. JCIC Sponsor can redeem both the Private Placement Warrants and the Public Warrants when the stock price is between $10.00 to $18.00 . As such, it is economically beneficial for the Company to redeem the Private Placement Warrants any time before the stock price crosses the $18.00 threshold. Therefore, the Warrants have similar economic value, hence Private Placement Warrants are deemed to have the same value as the Public Warrants and are classified Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. Refer to “Note 12 – Accrued Expenses and Other Liabilities” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details.
Contingent Consideration
In connection with the Acquisitions, the Company is required to make contingent payments to the sellers based on the achievement of certain operational milestones, in the case of the Ignis Acquisition, and based on the achievement of certain earnout conditions, in the case of the FMS Acquisition. The fair value of the liability for the contingent payments recognized upon the Acquisitions as part of the purchase accounting opening balance sheet totaled $6.2 million. The fair value of the contingent consideration was determined using the Monte-Carlo simulation-based model discounted to present value. Assumptions used in this calculation are equity volatility, estimated future stock prices and various probability factors, including management’s estimate of the likelihood of meeting certain operational milestones and earnout conditions in the case of the Ignis Acquisition and the FMS Acquisition, respectively. The ultimate settlement of the contingent consideration could deviate from current estimates based on the actual results of these financial measures. This liability is considered to be a Level 3 financial liability that is remeasured each reporting period. Changes in estimated fair value of contingent consideration are recognized as Selling, general and administrative expenses within the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Refer to “Note 12 – Accrued Expenses and Other Liabilities” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details.
Non-Recurring Fair Value Measurements
The Company measures certain assets at fair value on a non-recurring basis, including long-lived assets and goodwill and cost method investments, which are evaluated for impairment. Long-lived assets include property, plant and equipment, net, and certain intangible assets. The inputs used to determine the fair value of long-lived assets are considered Level 3 measurements due to their subjective nature.
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As of December 31, 2024, the Company did not have any significant assets or liabilities that were remeasured at fair value on a non-recurring basis in periods subsequent to initial recognition. As of December 31, 2023, the Company recorded impairment charges of $2.4 million related to three of our Twin Commander aircraft and our two Aurora eVTOL Skiron drone aircraft. Refer to “Note 8 – Property, Plant and Equipment, Net” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details.
NOTE 15 – LONG-TERM DEBT
Long-term debt consisted of the following:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
Taxable industrial revenue bonds, dated July 21, 2022, | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
Permanent loan agreement, dated October 1, 2020, greater of Prime + | ||||||||||||||
Permanent loan agreement, dated August 21, 2020, greater of Prime + | ||||||||||||||
Term loan agreement dated September 30, 2019, SOFR + | ||||||||||||||
Term loan agreement dated February 3, 2020, SOFR + | ||||||||||||||
Various term loan agreements, earliest start at September 9, 2021, | ||||||||||||||
| Loans payable | ||||||||||||||
| Less: noncurrent debt issuance costs | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Less: current debt issuance costs | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Less: current portion of long-term debt, net of debt issuance costs | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Total long-term debt, net of debt issuance costs | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
1 On July 21, 2022, the Company closed on the Series 2022 Bonds, upon which the Company received aggregate proceeds of $135.0 million on July 21, 2022 and $25.0 million on August 10, 2022. The proceeds were designated to redeem in full the 2021 Bonds and the Series A Preferred shares, to finance the construction and equipping of the Company’s third and fourth aircraft hangar in Belgrade, Montana and to fund the purchase of additional CL-415EAF aircraft. The Series 2022 Bonds mature on September 1, 2027, with an annual interest rate of 11.5 % payable semiannually on March 1 and September 1 of each year, commencing on September 1, 2022. Debt issuance costs for the Series 2022 Bonds were $4.2 million. The Series 2022 Bonds are subject to redemption or prepayment prior to maturity, as follows: (a) optional redemption in whole or in part, on any day thereafter at par plus accrued interest, and on certain dates, a premium; (b) mandatory redemption at par plus any premium applicable to optional redemptions and a 3 % premium if such redemptions are made prior to September 1, 2025, in whole or in part, in the event of the occurrence of certain events; and (c) extraordinary redemption at par plus accrued interest due to the occurrence of certain casualty, condemnation, or other unexpected events. Optional redemptions are subject to 3 %, 2 %, and 0 % premiums if redemptions are made on or after September 1, 2025, September 2026, and September 2027, respectively. At the Company’s direction, the Series 2022 Bonds may be redeemed by Gallatin County at any time, at a redemption price equal to 100 % of the principal amount plus accrued interest upon the occurrence of certain events
2 In 2020, the Company entered into two separate credit facilities brokered through Live Oak Bank (“LOB”) and backed by the US Department of Agriculture for the completed purchase of the Company’s first two Viking CL-415EAF aircraft. The Company issued two $19.0 15 two years 13 1.5 4.75 1.0 million and $0.9 million, respectively.
3 On September 20, 2019, the Company entered into a credit facility with CWB for $12.9 million, established as a 10 -year maturity, 6 -month draw period, first 6 months interest only payments monthly, then 10 -year term principal plus interest due monthly on a 20 -year amortization at the rate of 1 month SOFR plus 2.61448 %. Debt issuance costs for this loan were $0.1 million.
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4 On February 3, 2020, the Company entered into a credit facility with CWB to finance in part the purchase of four Quest Kodiak aircraft. A promissory note was issued for $5.6 million, established as a 7 -year maturity, first 8 months interest only payments monthly, 60 day draw period, then 76 -month term plus principal interest due monthly on a 10 -year amortization at the rate of 1 month SOFR plus 2.61448 %. Debt issuance costs for this loan was $0.1 million.
The Series 2022 Bonds are subject to financial covenants requiring the Company to maintain a DSCR that exceeds 1.25 x commencing with the fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2023, operate in such a manner to produce gross revenues so as to be at all relevant times in compliance with the DSCR covenant and to maintain liquidity of $8.0 million in the form of unrestricted cash or investments (excluding margin accounts and retirement accounts) at all times and to be reported.
The Company is in compliance with the DSCR covenant as of December 31, 2024 and management anticipates the Company will remain in compliance with the DSCR covenant at future quarterly measurement periods during the next 12 months. The Company is in compliance with the $8.0 million minimum liquidity requirement as of December 31, 2024.
The Series 2022 Bonds agreements provide that, with regard to covenant violations, other than non-payment of principal or interest, no event of default shall be deemed to have occurred so long as a reasonable course of action to remedy a violation commences within 30 days of non-compliance and management diligently prosecutes the remediation plan to completion.
The LOB loans are subject to financial covenants requiring the Company to maintain a DSCR, generally calculated as the ratio of the net cash flow (as defined in the applicable note agreements) to the amount of interest and servicing fees required to be paid over the succeeding 12 months on the principal amount of the note, as applicable, that will be outstanding on the payment date following such date of determination, that exceeds 1.25 x at the aircraft or entity level and for the Company’s debt to worth ratio to not exceed 5.00 x at the aircraft or entity level. The Company is in compliance with such financial covenants as of December 31, 2024.
Both of the loans with CWB are subject to financial covenants requiring the Company to maintain a DSCR, calculated as the ratio of adjusted EBITDA (as defined in the applicable note agreements) to the amount of interest and principal payments for the fiscal year ending on the compliance date, that exceeds 1.25 x for the Company. These notes are also subject to financial covenants requiring the Company to maintain a Senior Leverage Ratio on a quarterly basis not to exceed 6.00 to 1.00 through Quarter 3, 2025 and 5.00 to 1.00 thereafter. This is calculated as Total Funded Senior Debt (as defined in the applicable note agreements) less municipal debt, divided by adjusted EBITDA (as defined in the applicable note agreements). The Company is in compliance with such financial covenants as of December 31, 2024.
Amortization of debt issuance costs was $0.9 million and $1.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Principal maturities of the outstanding debt as of December 31, 2024 are as follows:
| $ in thousands | Maturities | |||||||
| 2025 | $ | |||||||
| 2026 | ||||||||
| 2027 | ||||||||
| 2028 | ||||||||
| 2029 | ||||||||
| Thereafter | ||||||||
| Total | $ | |||||||
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NOTE 16 – LEASES
Under ASC 842, leases are separated into two classifications: operating leases and financial leases. Lease classification under ASC 842 is relatively similar to ASC 840. For a lease to be classified as a finance lease, it must meet one of the five finance lease criteria: (1) transference of title/ownership to the lessee, (2) reasonably certain to exercise a purchase option, (3) lease term for major part of the remaining economic life of the asset, (4) present value represents substantially all of the fair value of the asset and (5) asset specialization. Any lease that does not meet these criteria is classified as an operating lease. ASC 842 requires all leases to be recognized on the Company’s balance sheet. Specifically, for operating leases, the Company recognizes a right-of-use asset and a corresponding lease liability upon lease commitment.
Company as a lessee
The Company is the lessee in a lease contract when the Company obtains the right to use the asset. The right-of-use asset represents the Company’s right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease obligations represent the Company’s obligations to make lease payments arising from the lease, both of which are recognized based on the present value of the future minimum lease payments over the lease term at the commencement date. The Company has also elected the short-term lease exception whereby leases with a term of 12 months or less at inception are not recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and are expensed on a straight-line basis over the lease term in our Consolidated Statements of Operations. The Company determines the lease term by agreement with the lessor. Options to renew are considered in lease terms if reasonably expected to be exercised.
ASC 842 requires a lessee to use the rate implicit in the lease whenever that rate is readily determinable, otherwise the incremental borrowing rate (“IBR”) should be used. Given the nature of the Company’s lease portfolio, which consists of leases of hangar spaces, aircraft, vehicles, copiers, buildings, aircraft equipment, the implicit rate is often unavailable. In such cases, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate as the discount rate. The IBR is the rate of interest that a lessee would have to pay to borrow on a collateralized basis over a similar term an amount equal to the lease payments in a similar economic environment. The determination of the IBR requires judgment and is derived from the Company’s weighted average cost of capital.
Components of the Company’s operating and finance lease assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2024 and 2023 are as follows:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | Financial Statement Line Item | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||||
| Assets | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use asset | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Finance lease right-of-use asset, net | Property, plant and equipment, net | |||||||||||||||||||
| Liabilities | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use liabilities (current) | Operating right-of-use liability (current) | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
| Finance lease right-of-use liabilities (current) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use liabilities (non-current) | Operating right-of-use liability (noncurrent) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Finance lease right-of-use liabilities (non-current) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Company leases various property and premises on a short-term basis and leases some of its premises under non-cancelable operating leases that expire on various dates through January 2052.
The Company recorded $2.1 million and $1.5 million of expenses associated with these operating leases in Cost of Revenues and Selling, general and administrative expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. The Company recorded expenses associated with finance leases in Cost of revenues and Selling, general and administrative expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
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Supplemental cash flow information related to leases is as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities: | ||||||||||||||
| Operating cash flows from operating leases | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Operating cash flows from finance leases | ||||||||||||||
| Financing cash flows from finance leases | ||||||||||||||
| Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for lease liabilities: | ||||||||||||||
| Operating leases | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Operating lease from purchase consideration of FMS acquisition | ||||||||||||||
As of December 31, 2024, future minimum lease payments are as follows:
| $s in thousands | Operating Leases | Finance Leases | ||||||||||||
| Year Ending December 31: | ||||||||||||||
| 2025 | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| 2026 | ||||||||||||||
| 2027 | ||||||||||||||
| 2028 | ||||||||||||||
| 2029 | ||||||||||||||
| Thereafter | ||||||||||||||
| Total lease payments | ||||||||||||||
| Less: interest | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Total lease liabilities | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Weighted average remaining lease term: | ||||||||||||||
| Weighted average discount rate: | % | % | ||||||||||||
NOTE 17 – COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Legal Matters
From time to time, the Company is subject to various litigation and other claims in the normal course of business. No amounts have been accrued in the Consolidated Financial Statements with respect to any matters.
Due to the nature of our business, we may become, from time to time, involved in routine litigation or subject to disputes or claims related to our business activities. In the opinion of our management, there are no pending litigation, disputes or claims against us which, if decided adversely, will have a material adverse effect on our financial conditions, cash flows or results of operations. In the ordinary course of its operations, the Company will continue to vigorously enforce its legal and contractual rights to ensure that its business and operations continue on an unimpaired basis.
Contingencies
On November 17, 2023, the Company entered into a series of agreements with MAB and its subsidiary designed to facilitate the purchase and return-to-service of four Spanish Scoopers originally awarded to the Company in September 2023 via a public tender process from the Government of Spain. The terms of the agreements provide that the Company will manage the return-to-service upgrades of the Spanish Scoopers while they are owned and funded by MAB. The Company has the right, but not the obligation, to acquire each plane as it is ready to be contracted and returned to service. In the event that the Company does not purchase the aircraft within the time periods set forth in the agreements, then either party may initiate a sales process for the sale of all aircraft that have not been purchased by the Company, which sales process the Company will oversee and manage. If the aircraft are sold to a third party through such process, then the Company must pay the MAB’s subsidiary a cash fee equal to the amount, if any, by which the aggregate price of the Company’s purchase options for such aircraft exceeds the consideration paid by the third-party purchaser for the same aircraft, not to exceed $15.0 million in aggregate. If the aircraft are not sold to a third party and MAB’s subsidiary has not otherwise entered into an operating lease with a third party for the aircraft, then the Company must pay MAB’s subsidiary $15.0 million.
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NOTE 18 – MEZZANINE EQUITY
Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares
On April 25, 2022, Legacy Bridger authorized and issued 315,789.473684 288.5 million, net of issuance costs of $11.5 million. The Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares ranked senior to Legacy Bridger’s common shares and ranked subordinate to Legacy Bridger Series A Preferred Shares, which were later redeemed in 2022, with respect to the distribution of assets upon liquidation or certain triggering events. The Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares did not participate in earnings of Legacy Bridger and were non-voting shares.
Prior to the consummation of the qualified public offering, the Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares accrued interest daily at 7 % per annum for the first year, 9 % per annum for the second year and 11 % per annum thereafter and were compounded semi-annually at June 30th and December 31st of each year. Following the consummation of a qualified public offering, the Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares were to accrue interest daily at 7 % per annum for the first 6 years, 9 % per annum for the seventh year and 11 % per annum thereafter, compounded semi-annually.
Upon the Closing, Legacy Bridger surrendered and exchanged all 315,789.473684 issued and outstanding Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares into 315,789.473684 shares of Series A Preferred Stock. The Company’s Certificate of Incorporation included provisions of the Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares that were already in effect prior to the consummation of the Reverse Recapitalization. As a result of the Reverse Recapitalization, the maximum redemption value of the Company’s Series A Preferred Stock changed to approximately $332.7 million and excluded the 50 % multiplier which had historically been included in the maximum redemption value of Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares.
The Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares were convertible at the election of the holder into shares of Legacy Bridger’s Class B common shares after the occurrence of certain specified events, including after a qualified public offering, without the payment of additional consideration by the holder into such number of Legacy Bridger Class B common stock as determined by dividing the original issue price, plus accrued interest by a conversion price in effect at the time of conversion. The conversion price of Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares was initially equal to $12.929104 . The applicable conversion price was subject to future adjustments upon the occurrence of a qualified public offering.
The Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares were mandatorily redeemable by Legacy Bridger on April 25, 2032 at an amount dependent on whether the redemption occurs prior or following a qualified public offering. If the mandatory redemption occurs prior to the consummation of a qualified public offering, the redemption amount was equal to the stated value, plus the initial issue price multiplied by 50 %, plus accrued but unpaid interest. If the mandatory redemption occurs following the consummation of a qualified public offering, the redemption amount was equal to the stated value, plus accrued but unpaid interest. The Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares were also redeemable upon certain triggering events outside of the control of Legacy Bridger. The redemption events include redemption by the holder after March 29, 2027 and prior to a qualified public offering, or a fundamental change in Legacy Bridger’s voting and governance structure such as the sale of Legacy Bridger or its subsidiaries representing more than 50 % of Legacy Bridger’s voting stock or a similar liquidity event.
Given the conversion feature is considered substantive, the mandatory redemption date is not certain and the optional redemption is upon the occurrence of certain events that is considered not solely within Legacy Bridger’s control, the Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares are classified as mezzanine equity.
As of December 31, 2022, it was probable that the Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares may become redeemable at either the holder’s option on or after March 29, 2027 and prior to the consummation of a qualified public offering or in the event of a qualified public offering. The Company elected to recognize changes in redemption value immediately, adjusting the Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares to the maximum redemption value at each reporting date. As of December 31, 2022, the Legacy Bridger Series C Preferred Shares were carried at their redemption value of $489.0 million.
Series A Preferred Stock
The Series A Preferred Stock are convertible at the election of the holders into shares of Common Stock, without the payment of additional consideration by the holders into such number of shares of Common Stock as determined by dividing the original issue price, plus accrued interest by a conversion price equal to $11.00 per share at the time of conversion.
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Shares of Series A Preferred Stock are mandatorily redeemable by the Company on April 25, 2032 at a redemption amount that is equal to the stated value, plus accrued but unpaid interest. Accrued interest recorded for the Series A Preferred Stock was $25.3 million and $22.2 million during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Shares of Series A Preferred Stock are also redeemable upon certain triggering events outside of the control of the Company. The triggering events include redemption by the holder on or after April 25, 2027, or a fundamental change in the Company’s voting and governance structure such as the sale of the Company or its subsidiaries representing more than 50 % of the Company’s voting stock or a similar liquidity event.
As of December 31, 2024, it is probable that the Series A Preferred Stock may become redeemable on April 25, 2032. The Company has elected to recognize changes in redemption value immediately, adjusting the preferred stock to the maximum redemption value at each reporting date. Upon Closing, the Series A Preferred Stock had both a carrying value and redemption value of $332.7 million, the 50 % multiplier, valued at $156.4 million, was removed. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Series A Preferred Stock had both a carrying value and redemption value of $380.2 million and $354.8 million, respectively. Refer to table below.
As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the fair value of the embedded derivative related to the event of default is zero and $0.9 million, respectively, recorded in Accrued expenses and other current liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and remeasured to fair value at each balance sheet date with changes in fair value recorded within Interest expense on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
The Company determined the fair value of the other features requiring bifurcation, both individually and in the aggregate were immaterial at December 31, 2024 and 2023. The fair value of these features will be assessed at each reporting date and will be recognized and remeasured at fair value, if material.
Additionally, the reduction of the conversion price from $12.90 per share to $11.00 per share triggered a down round conversion feature embedded in the Series A Preferred Stock upon Closing. The Company recognized the value of the effect of a down round feature as a deemed dividend, decreasing (Loss) earnings attributable to Common Stockholders in the computation of (Loss) earnings per share by zero and $48.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, there are zero and 32,258,180 shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion, respectively.
| Redeemable Series A Preferred Stock | ||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | Shares | Amounts | ||||||||||||
| Issued as of closing date | $ | |||||||||||||
| Adjustment to maximum redemption value | ||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2024 | $ | |||||||||||||
| Redeemable Series A Preferred Stock | ||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | Shares | Amounts | ||||||||||||
| Issued as of closing date | $ | |||||||||||||
| Adjustment to maximum redemption value | ||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2023 | $ | |||||||||||||
NOTE 19 – STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
Bridger Common Stock
In connection with the Reverse Recapitalization, the Company issued 43,769,290 shares of Common Stock, of which 39,081,744 shares were issued to Legacy Bridger Common shareholders, 2,084,357 shares were issued to the public shareholders of JCIC and 2,603,189 shares were issued to JCIC Sponsor and independent directors of JCIC upon Closing. Of the shares issued to Legacy Bridger Common shareholders and JCIC Sponsor, 233,323 and 855,000 shares are subject to continuing vesting conditions, respectively.
97
Restricted Stock Units
In January 2023, in connection with the Closing, the Company and its Board established and approved and assumed the Omnibus Plan, which allowed the Company to grant RSUs to Bridger employees (the “Participants”). RSUs are settled in shares of Common Stock as the RSUs vest. The RSUs accrue dividend equivalents associated with the underlying shares of Common Stock as the Company declares dividends. Dividends are paid to holders of RSUs in cash upon the vesting date of the associated RSU and are forfeited if the RSU does not vest. For the purposes of calculating compensation expense, the fair value of RSUs is the closing stock price on the date of grant. Generally, RSUs vest over a period of six years , subject to the participant’s continued employment. Upon vesting of each RSU, the Company will issue one share of Common Stock to the RSU holder.
RSU activity for the period from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024 is as follows:
| Number of Awards | Weighted average grant date fair value | |||||||||||||
| Outstanding as of December 31, 2022 | $ | |||||||||||||
| Granted | ||||||||||||||
| Vested | ( | |||||||||||||
| Forfeited/Cancelled | ( | |||||||||||||
| Outstanding as of December 31, 2023 | $ | |||||||||||||
| Granted | ||||||||||||||
| Vested | ( | |||||||||||||
| Forfeited/Cancelled | ( | |||||||||||||
| Outstanding as of December 31, 2024 | $ | |||||||||||||
The total fair value of RSUs vested during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 was $10.2 million and $24.6 million, respectively, based on the closing stock price on the date of vesting.
For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company recorded stock-based compensation expense related to RSUs of $1.7 million and $2.1 million, respectively, within Total cost of revenues and $14.4 million and $44.6 million, respectively, within Selling, general and administrative expense on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, there was $15.2 million and $31.0 million, respectively, of unrecognized total compensation expense related to unvested RSUs, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 2.8 years and 2.9 years, respectively.
Incentive Units
Prior to the adoption of the Omnibus Plan, during the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company granted Incentive Units to selected board members and executives. Within each grant, 80 % of the Incentive Units vest annually over a four year period subject to continued service by the grantee (the “Time-Vesting Incentive Units”), and the remaining 20 % of the Incentive Units vest upon a qualifying change of control event (the “Exit-Vesting Incentive Units”). For the Time-Vesting Incentive Units, compensation cost is recognized over the requisite service period on a straight-line basis. For the Exit-Vesting Incentive Units, expense is recognized when a qualifying change of control event is considered probable, which has not occurred as of December 31, 2024. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, 40,404 Exit-Vesting Incentive Units, with a weighted average grant date fair value of $0.01 , remain outstanding. Upon vesting of each Incentive Unit, the Company will issue 0.96246 shares of Common Stock to the Incentive Unit holder.
At-the-Market (“ATM”) Offering
On January 26, 2024, the Company entered into a sales agreement (“2024 ATM Agreement”) with Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (“Stifel”) and Virtu Americas LLC (together with Stifel, the “Agents”) under which we could offer and sell, from time to time, shares of our Common Stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $100.0 million through the Agents in negotiated transactions that are deemed to be an “at the market offering.”
98
The offering was registered under the Securities Act, pursuant to our shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (Registration Statement No. 333-276721), as previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and declared effective on February 6, 2024. We filed a prospectus supplement, dated February 6, 2024, with the SEC that provides for the sale of shares of Common Stock having an aggregate offering price of up to approximately $22.2 million. We filed a prospectus supplement, dated April 16, 2024, with the SEC that reduces the amount of potential shares of Common Stock that may be sold under our shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (Registration Statement No. 333-276721) to shares having an aggregate offering price of up to approximately $5.9 million (“2024 ATM Shares”).
Under the 2024 ATM Agreement, the Agents may sell the 2024 ATM Shares by any method permitted by law and deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act, including sales made directly on or through the Nasdaq Global Market, or any other existing trading market for the 2024 ATM Shares or in negotiated transactions at market prices prevailing at the time of sale or at prices related to such prevailing market prices. Actual sales will depend on a variety of factors to be determined by the Company from time to time, including, among other things, market conditions, the trading price of the Common Stock, capital needs and determinations by the Company of the appropriate sources of funding for the Company.
The Company is not obligated to make any sales of the 2024 ATM Shares under the 2024 ATM Agreement. The offering of the 2024 ATM Shares pursuant to the 2024 ATM Agreement will terminate upon the termination of the 2024 ATM Agreement by the Agents or us, as permitted therein.
The 2024 ATM Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and agreements by the Company, and customary indemnification and contribution rights and obligations of the parties. The Company agreed to pay the Agents an aggregate commission of up to 3.0 % of the aggregate gross proceeds from each sale of the 2024 ATM Shares. The Company also agreed to reimburse the Agents for certain specified expenses in connection with entering into the 2024 ATM Agreement.
During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company sold an aggregate of 33,798 shares of Common Stock at a weighted-average price of $5.13 per share for net proceeds of $0.2 million, net of fees of $5,000 under the 2024 ATM Agreement.
Registered Direct Offering
On April 15, 2024, the Company entered into securities purchase agreements (each a “Purchase Agreement” and, collectively, the “Purchase Agreements”) with certain accredited investors (the “Purchasers”), pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell and issue to the Purchasers, severally, an aggregate of 2,183,366 shares of Common Stock registered under the Company’s shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (Registration Statement No. 333-276721), in a registered direct equity offering (the “Registered Direct Offering”). 808,080 of the shares in the Registered Direct Offering were sold to certain directors and executive officers of the Company at an offering price of $4.95 per share, which was the closing bid price for shares of the Common Stock on the Nasdaq Global Market on April 15, 2024. The remaining 1,375,286 shares were sold in the Registered Direct Offering at an offering price of $4.25 per share.
The aggregate net proceeds to the Company from the Registered Direct Offering were approximately $9.2 million, after deducting fees payable to the placement agent and other offering expenses payable by the Company. The Company agreed to pay the placement agent fees in an amount of 6.0 % of the gross proceeds raised in the Registered Direct Offering. The Company also agreed to reimburse the placement agent for its out-of-pocket legal expenses in connection with the Registered Direct Offering in an amount not to exceed $75,000 .
NOTE 20 – RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company incurred $0.9 million and $0.5 million, respectively, in training expenses provided by an entity in which Mr. Timothy Sheehy, the Company’s founder and former Chief Executive Officer, President, and director, has a partial ownership, with $0.1
For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company earned $0.2 million and $0.1 million, respectively, in revenues related to charter rentals of the Company’s aircraft by the U.S. Senate campaign of Mr. Timothy Sheehy. For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company earned $0.4 million in revenues from services performed on an aircraft under the ownership of Mr. Timothy Sheehy, the Company’s prior Chief Executive Officer.
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On November 17, 2023, the Company entered into a series of agreements designed to facilitate the purchase and return to service of the Spanish Scoopers originally awarded to our wholly-owned subsidiary, Bridger Aerospace Europe, S.L.U. (“BAE”), in September 2023 via a public tender process from the Government of Spain for €40.3 million. Under the terms of the agreements, we agreed to sell the entire outstanding equity interest in BAE to MAB and purchase $4.0 million of non-voting Class B units of MAB. ASSF Holdings LP (“Avenue Investor”) made capital contributions totaling $13.0 million in exchange for 13,031 voting Class A Units of MAB. Avenue Investor holds approximately 10 % of Bridger’s outstanding convertible Series A Preferred Stock which represents approximately 6.6 % interest in BAER Common Stock on a fully diluted basis.
On July 10, 2023, the Company entered into two operating lease agreements, each for a Pilatus PC-12 under the ownership of Mr. Timothy Sheehy. The Company recorded approximately $5.1 million of right-of-use assets, $1.3 million of right-of-use current liabilities, and $3.8 million of right-of-use noncurrent liabilities as of December 31, 2024. The Company recorded approximately $6.3 million of right-of-use assets, $1.7 million of right-of-use current liabilities, and $4.6 million of right-of-use noncurrent liabilities as of December 31, 2023. The Company incurred approximately $1.7 million and $0.8 million in lease expense for year ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, associated with the two related party leases.
On July 21, 2022, the Company closed on the Series 2022 Bonds, upon which the Company received from aggregate proceeds of $135.0 million on July 21, 2022 and $25.0 million on August 10, 2022. In connection with the original issuance, three senior executives of the Company purchased approximately $10.0 million of the Series 2022 Bonds, which purchases were entered into on an arm’s length basis during the public offering for the Series 2022 Bonds, and on the same terms and conditions that were offered to all Bond purchasers. One of the related parties of the Company left the Company during the period ended June 30, 2024 and was no longer deemed a related party following his departure. The two other related parties of the Company disposed of their holdings as of October 1, 2024, and as such, held none of the Series 2022 Bonds as of December 31, 2024. The Company accrued approximately zero and $0.4 million in interest for these bond holders as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The Company has paid approximately $1.1 million and $1.2 million in interest to these bond holders during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and incurred $0.8 million and $1.2 million in interest expense for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Refer to “Note 15 – Long-Term Debt” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information on the Series 2022 Bonds.
NOTE 21 – INCOME TAXES
The components of our loss before income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, are as follows:
| For the Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Domestic | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||||||||
| Foreign | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||||||||
The components of the current tax provision and deferred tax benefit for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, are as follows:
| For the Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Current tax provision: | ||||||||||||||
| U.S. Federal | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| State and local | ( | |||||||||||||
| Foreign | ||||||||||||||
| Total current tax provision | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Deferred tax benefit: | ||||||||||||||
| U.S. Federal | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||||||||
| State and local | ( | |||||||||||||
| Foreign | ||||||||||||||
| Total deferred tax benefit | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||||||||
| Income tax benefit | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||||||||
100
The reconciliation between the statutory federal income tax rate and the effective income tax rate for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, are as follows:
| For the Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||
| Income tax - at U.S. statutory tax rate | % | % | ||||||||||||
| Warrant mark-to-market adjustment | % | % | ||||||||||||
| State and local taxes - net of federal | % | % | ||||||||||||
| Return to provision | ( | % | % | |||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | ( | % | ( | % | ||||||||||
| Valuation allowance | % | ( | % | |||||||||||
| Other | ( | % | ( | % | ||||||||||
| Effective rate of tax | % | % | ||||||||||||
In addition to the US federal statutory income tax rate, significant recurring items that affect the Company’s income tax rate are state and local income taxes, nondeductible officer compensation, and change in valuation allowance recognition.
The components of the total net deferred tax assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, consisted of the following:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| $s in thousands | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Deferred tax assets: | ||||||||||||||
| Net operating losses | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Partnership | ||||||||||||||
| Interest expense limitation - 163(j) | ||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | ||||||||||||||
| Other | ||||||||||||||
| Total deferred tax assets | ||||||||||||||
| Valuation allowance for deferred tax assets | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Net deferred tax assets | ||||||||||||||
| Deferred tax liabilities: | ||||||||||||||
| Intangibles - Ignis | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Total deferred tax liabilities | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Net deferred tax assets (liabilities) | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
The total deferred tax liability presented in the financial statements as of December 31, 2024 is subject to certain significant estimates. The valuation allowance recorded as of December 31, 2024 is reliant on the scheduling of future taxable income. This is highly subjective in nature and may materially change within the next 12 months.
As of December 31, 2024, the Company had $95.6 million of federal net operating loss carryforwards available, and all have an unlimited carryforward period. Future federal NOL utilization is limited to 80% of taxable income on an annual basis. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had $95.6 million of state net operating loss carryforwards available. If not utilized, the state net operating loss carryforwards will expire at various dates beginning in 2033. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had $44.8 million of interest expense limitation available, and all of the limitation has an unlimited carryforward period. Future interest expense utilization is limited to 30% of taxable income on an annual basis.
The Company records interest and penalties through income tax expense relating to uncertain tax positions. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company has not
The Company’s federal, state and foreign income tax returns are subject to audit. The Company is not currently under audit by federal or foreign taxing authorities. The years open to examination include years ending 2021 to 2023 for federal income tax purposes, years ending 2020 to 2023 for state income tax purposes, and years ending 2020 to 2023 for foreign income tax purposes.
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Due to uncertainty regarding future utilization, a valuation allowance has been recorded in respect of all federal and state deferred tax assets, inclusive of federal and state net operating loss carryforwards and state credit carryforwards. Management’s determined that it is more likely than not that the benefit of such loss and credit carryforwards will not be fully realized. The Company has a valuation allowance of $49.7 million and $51.5 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The valuation allowance decreased by $1.8 million.
NOTE 22 – (LOSS) EARNINGS PER SHARE
(Loss) earnings per share of Common Stock is calculated in accordance with ASC 260, Earnings per share. (Loss) earnings per share – basic is calculated by dividing (Loss) earnings attributable to Common Stockholders - basic and diluted by the Weighted average Common Stock outstanding - basic.
Loss per share – diluted is based on the weighted average number of shares of Common Stock used for the (Loss) earnings per share - basic calculation, adjusted for the weighted-average number of common share equivalents outstanding for the period determined using the treasury stock method and if-converted method, as applicable. (Loss) earnings attributable to Common Stockholders – basic and diluted is adjusted for the impact of changes in the fair value of the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants, to the extent they are dilutive.
(Loss) earnings per share calculations for all periods prior to the Closing have been retrospectively adjusted by the Exchange Ratio for the equivalent number of shares outstanding immediately after the Closing to effect the reverse recapitalization. Subsequent to the Closing, (Loss) earnings per share is calculated based on the Weighted average Common Stock outstanding.
The following table sets forth the computation of the Company’s (Loss) earnings per share:
| For the years ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| ($s in thousands, except per share amounts) | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||||||||
| Adjustments to Net loss: | ||||||||||||||
| Series A Preferred Stock—adjustment for deemed dividend upon Closing | ( | |||||||||||||
| Series A Preferred Stock—adjustment to eliminate 50% multiplier | ||||||||||||||
| Series A Preferred Stock—adjustment to maximum redemptions value | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| (Loss) earnings attributable to Common stockholders – basic | $ | ( | $ | |||||||||||
| Change in fair value of embedded derivative | ||||||||||||||
| Dilutive adjustments to (Loss) earnings attributable to Common stockholders - basic | ( | |||||||||||||
| Loss attributable to Common stockholders – diluted | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||||||||
| Weighted average Common Stock outstanding - basic | ||||||||||||||
| Weighted average effect of dilutive securities: | ||||||||||||||
| Series A Preferred Stock | ||||||||||||||
| Weighted average Common Stock outstanding - diluted | ||||||||||||||
| (Loss) earnings per share – basic | $ | ( | $ | |||||||||||
| Loss per share – diluted | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||||||||
The following table summarizes the potentially dilutive common shares that were excluded from diluted Loss per share - diluted computations because the effect would have been anti-dilutive:
| For the years ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||
| Series A Preferred Stock | ||||||||||||||
| Unvested Restricted Stock Units | ||||||||||||||
| Public Warrants | ||||||||||||||
| Private Placement Warrants | ||||||||||||||
| Unvested Legacy Bridger Incentive Units | ||||||||||||||
| Sponsor Earnout Shares | ||||||||||||||
102
NOTE 23 – SEGMENT AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
The Company operates as a single operating segment. Our revenues are primarily derived from aerial wildfire management, relief and suppression and the delivery of specialty aviation services. The Company’s Chief Executive Officer is the Company’s Chief Operating Decision Maker (“CODM”), who reviews the financial performance of the Company on a consolidated basis. The CODM uses consolidated revenues and Adjusted EBITDA to assess financial performance and allocate resources. These financial metrics are used by the CODM to make key operating decisions, such as the determination of the rate at which the Company seeks to grow revenues and operating margin and the allocation of budget between cost of revenues and selling, general & administrative expenses.
The following table presents selected financial information with respect to the Company’s single operating segment for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023:
| For the years ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| ($s in thousands) | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues: | ||||||||||||||
| Flight operations | ||||||||||||||
| Maintenance | ||||||||||||||
| Total cost of revenues | ||||||||||||||
| Gross income | ||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | ||||||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expense | ||||||||||||||
| Operating income (loss) | ( | |||||||||||||
| Interest income | ||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Other income | ||||||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Income tax benefit | ||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||||||||
See the Consolidated Financial Statements for other financial information regarding the Company’s operating segment.
The CODM evaluates the Company’s financial performance based on key metrics, including revenue growth, operating income, and Adjusted EBITDA. These metrics are reviewed regularly to assess the efficiency and profitability of the Company’s operations. Additionally, significant expenses, such as cost of revenues and selling, general & administrative expenses, are closely monitored as part of the performance evaluation and resource allocation process.
Total United States revenues were $88.5 million and $49.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Refer to “Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information about revenue by geographic location. The Company had two customers who individually accounted for 61 % and 12 % of total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2024, and three customers who individually accounted for 65 %, 12 % and 11 % of total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023.
The Company's long-lived tangible assets, as well as the Company's operating lease right-of-use assets recognized on the Consolidated Balance Sheets were located as follows:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| ($s in thousands) | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| United States | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Spain | ||||||||||||||
NOTE 24 – SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
Management has evaluated the impact of events occurring after December 31, 2024 up to the date of issuance of these Consolidated Financial Statements, and these statements contain all necessary adjustments and disclosures resulting from that evaluation.
On January 29, 2025, the Company sold two of its Twin Commanders for $0.9 million.
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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.
None.
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls are procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this Annual Report on Form 10-K, is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls are also designed with the objective of ensuring that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the current chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our management evaluated, with the participation of our current chief executive officer and chief financial officer (our “Certifying Officers”), the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2024, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, our Certifying Officers concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of December 31, 2024, with regard to the material weaknesses described below.
We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.
Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15(d)-15(f) under the Exchange Act. All internal control systems, no matter how well designed and operated, have inherent limitations. Therefore, even systems or system components which are deemed to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation. Our management conducted an assessment of the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on that assessment, our management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2024, with regard to the material weaknesses, which is described below.
Under standards established by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a material weakness is a deficiency or 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. During the audit of our financial statements, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified a material weakness, which are described below.
Material Weaknesses: We have identified two material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, which we are in the process of, and are focused on, remediating. The material weaknesses are related to the accounting for complex transactions within our financial statement closing and reporting process, and maintaining and monitoring user access to certain IT systems contributing to our financial reporting. While we remediated substantial parts of these pre-existing material weaknesses throughout the year, we concluded that we may be exposed to the risk of material misstatement in our financial reports by a deficiency in our precision of the review of the inputs provided by external technical accounting experts, as well as the assignment and monitoring of user access in some of our IT applications.
Remediation Plan: We have already begun the process of, and are focused on, increasing the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and remediating the material weakness, including:
•improving the workflow for complex accounting transactions to include multiple levels of review and increase the time available to thoroughly evaluate the application of GAAP and improve the precision of review of assumptions made within third party accounting experts’ work product and
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•hiring a Director of Technical Accounting and Reporting in December 2024 to augment and improve our review of third-party accounting advice.
•restricting privileged access in our general ledger and account reconciliation applications to ensure the strict enforcement of workflows following the four-eyes principle, and
•designing controls to closely monitor the way in which remaining privileged access to financially relevant IT applications is exercised by those who hold it.
While these ongoing and planned actions are subject to constant management evaluation and will require validation and testing of the design and operating effectiveness of internal controls over a sustained period of financial reporting cycles, we are committed to the improvement of our internal control over financial reporting and will continue to diligently review our internal control over financial reporting.
Although we plan to complete this remediation process as quickly as possible, we are unable, at this time, to estimate how long it will take, and our efforts may not be successful in remediating the identified material weaknesses. In addition, even if we are successful in strengthening our controls and procedures, we can give no assurances that in the future such controls and procedures will be adequate to prevent or identify errors or irregularities or to facilitate the fair preparation and presentation of our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Attestation Report of the Registered Public Accounting Firm
This Annual Report does not include an attestation report of our registered public accounting firm on management’s report on internal control over financial reporting, as provided by an exception in Item 308 of Regulation S-K established for emerging growth companies. under the JOBS Act of 2012.
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION.
During the three months ended December 31, 2024, none of our directors or officers, as defined in Rule 16a-1(f) of the Exchange Act, has informed us of the adoption termination
ITEM 9C. DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS.
Not applicable.
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PART III
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.
The information required by this Item of Form 10-K will be included in our definitive proxy statement (the “Proxy Statement”) to be filed with the SEC in connection with the solicitation of proxies for our 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and is incorporated herein by reference. The Proxy Statement will be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year to which this Annual Report on Form 10-K relates.
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION.
The information required by this Item will be set forth in the Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.
ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS.
The information required by this Item will be set forth in the Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE.
The information required by this Item will be set forth in the Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES.
The information required by this Item will be set forth in the Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.
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PART IV
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES.
(a)The following documents are filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K:
1.Financial Statements: Consolidated Financial Statements filed as part of this report are listed under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.
2.Financial Statement Schedules: No schedules are required because either the required information is not present or not present in amounts sufficient to require submission of the schedule, or because the information required is included in the Consolidated Financial Statements thereto filed as a part of this Form 10-K.
3.The exhibits listed in the “Exhibit Index” below to this Annual Report on Form 10-K are incorporated herein by reference or are filed with this Annual Report on Form 10-K, in each case as indicated therein (numbered in accordance with Item 601 of Regulation S-K).
Exhibit Number | Description | |||||||
| 2.1+ | ||||||||
| 2.2+ | ||||||||
| 3.1 | ||||||||
| 3.2 | ||||||||
| 4.1 | ||||||||
| 4.2 | ||||||||
| 4.3* | ||||||||
| 10.1 | ||||||||
| 10.2 | ||||||||
| 10.3 | ||||||||
| 10.4# | ||||||||
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Exhibit Number | Description | |||||||
| 10.5# | ||||||||
| 10.6# | ||||||||
| 10.7# | ||||||||
| 10.8# | ||||||||
| 10.9++# | ||||||||
| 10.10 | ||||||||
| 10.11++ | ||||||||
| 10.12 | ||||||||
| 10.13 | ||||||||
| 10.14 | ||||||||
| 10.15 | ||||||||
| 10.16 | ||||||||
| 10.17 | ||||||||
108
Exhibit Number | Description | |||||||
| 10.18 | ||||||||
| 10.19 | ||||||||
| 10.20 | ||||||||
| 10.21 | ||||||||
| 10.22 | ||||||||
| 10.23 | ||||||||
| 10.24 | ||||||||
| 10.25 | ||||||||
| 10.26 | ||||||||
| 10.27 | ||||||||
| 10.28++ | ||||||||
| 10.29++ | ||||||||
| 10.30++ | ||||||||
109
Exhibit Number | Description | |||||||
| 10.31++ | ||||||||
| 10.32++ | ||||||||
| 10.33++ | ||||||||
| 10.34++ | ||||||||
| 10.35++ | ||||||||
| 10.36++ | ||||||||
| 10.37 | ||||||||
| 10.38 | ||||||||
| 10.39+ | ||||||||
| 10.40 | ||||||||
| 10.41 | ||||||||
| 10.42 | ||||||||
| 10.43++ | ||||||||
| 19.1* | ||||||||
| 21.1* | ||||||||
| 23.1* | ||||||||
110
Exhibit Number | Description | |||||||
| 31.1* | ||||||||
| 31.2* | ||||||||
| 32.1** | ||||||||
| 97.1 | ||||||||
| 101.INS* | XBRL Instance Document – the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document | |||||||
| 101.SCH* | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document | |||||||
| 101.CAL* | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document | |||||||
| 101.DEF* | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document | |||||||
| 101.LAB* | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document | |||||||
| 101.PRE* | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document | |||||||
| 104* | Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted in Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101) | |||||||
* Filed herewith.
** Furnished herewith.
+ Schedules and exhibits have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(a)(5) of Regulation S-K. Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. agrees to furnish supplementally a copy of any omitted schedule or exhibit to the SEC upon request.
++ Portions of this exhibit have been redacted pursuant to Item 601(b)(10)(iv) of Regulation S-K.
# Indicates management contract or compensatory plan.
ITEM 16. FORM 10-K SUMMARY.
None.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, on the 14th day of March, 2025.
| BRIDGER AEROSPACE GROUP HOLDINGS, INC. | |||||||||||
| By: | /s/ Sam Davis | ||||||||||
| Name: | Sam Davis | ||||||||||
| Title: | Interim Chief Executive Officer | ||||||||||
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Annual Report on Form 10-K has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated:
| Signatures | Title | Date | ||||||||||||
| /s/ Sam Davis | Interim Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) | March 14, 2025 | ||||||||||||
| Sam Davis | ||||||||||||||
| /s/ Eric Gerratt | Chief Financial Officer (Principal Accounting Officer and Principal Financial Officer) | March 14, 2025 | ||||||||||||
| Eric Gerratt | ||||||||||||||
/s/ Jeffrey Kelter | Director and Non-Executive Chairman of the Board | March 14, 2025 | ||||||||||||
| Jeffrey Kelter | ||||||||||||||
/s/ Dan Drohan | Director | March 14, 2025 | ||||||||||||
| Dan Drohan | ||||||||||||||
/s/ Elizabeth Fascitelli | Director | March 14, 2025 | ||||||||||||
| Elizabeth Fascitelli | ||||||||||||||
/s/ Anne Hayes | Director | March 14, 2025 | ||||||||||||
| Anne Hayes | ||||||||||||||
/s/ Dean Heller | Director | March 14, 2025 | ||||||||||||
| Dean Heller | ||||||||||||||
/s/ Wyman Howard | Director | March 14, 2025 | ||||||||||||
| Wyman Howard | ||||||||||||||
/s/ Robert Savage | Director | March 14, 2025 | ||||||||||||
| Robert Savage | ||||||||||||||
/s/ David Schellenberg | Director | March 14, 2025 | ||||||||||||
| David Schellenberg | ||||||||||||||
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Exhibit 4.3
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
The following summary of the material terms of Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc.’s (f/k/a Wildfire New PubCo, Inc.), a Delaware corporation (the “Company,” “Bridger,” “we,” “us,” “our,”) securities is not intended to be a complete summary of the rights and preferences of such securities and is qualified by reference to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (the “Amended and Restated Charter”), our amended and restated bylaws (the “Amended and Restated Bylaws”), the Stockholders Agreement, dated January 24, 2023 (the “Stockholders Agreement”), by and among the Company, certain former direct and indirect equityholders of Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, LLC and certain direct and indirect equityholders of Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, LLC that are affiliates of Blackstone Inc. (the “BTO Stockholders”), the Warrant Agreement, dated as of January 26, 2021, by and between Jack Creek Investment Corp. (“JCIC”) and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (the “Warrant Agent” and the “Original Warrant Agreement”), as assumed by the Company pursuant to the Warrant Assumption Agreement, dated January 24, 2023, by and among JCIC, the Company and the Warrant Agent (the “Warrant Assumption Agreement” and, together with the Existing Warrant Agreement, the “Warrant Agreement”). We urge to you read each of the Amended and Restated Charter, the Amended and Restated Bylaws, the Stockholders Agreement and the Warrant Agreement in their entirety for a complete description of the rights and preferences of our securities.
Authorized Capitalization
The Amended and Restated Charter authorizes the issuance of 1,010,000,000 shares, consisting of (a) 1,000,000,000 shares of common stock,
$0.0001 par value per share (“Common Stock”) and (b) 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.0001 par value per share (of which 1,000,000 shares are designated as the “Series A Preferred Stock”).
Common Stock
The holders of Common Stock are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by stockholders. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors.
Subject to the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) and the rights of holders of preferred stock, holders of Common Stock are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by our board of directors (the “Board”) out of funds legally available therefor.
If the Company liquidates, dissolves or wind ups, holders of Common Stock are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of stock, if any, having preference over Common Stock.
Subject to the DGCL and the rights of holders of Series A Preferred Stock, holders of our Common Stock have no preemptive or other subscription rights and there are no sinking fund or redemption provisions applicable to our Common Stock.
Preferred Stock
The Amended and Restated Charter authorizes the issuance of Series A Preferred Stock (as described below) and provides that shares of preferred stock may be issued from time to time in one or more additional series. The Board is authorized to fix the powers, designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights, if any, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, if any, of any wholly unissued series of preferred stock, including, without limitation, dividend rights, dividend rate, conversion rights, voting rights, rights and terms of redemption (including, without limitation, sinking fund provisions), redemption price or prices and liquidation preferences of any such series, and the number of shares constituting any such series and the designation thereof, or any of the foregoing. Subject to the terms of any outstanding preferred stock, the Board may, without stockholder approval, issue preferred stock with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of Common Stock and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of the Board to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of the Company or the removal of existing management.
1
Series A Preferred Stock
Dividends. Holders of the Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to receive dividends, paid twice per year, in cash or, at the election of the Company, by increasing the per share liquidation preference for such shares of Series A Preferred Stock. Dividends accrue on the Series A Preferred Stock daily, computed on the basis of a 365-day year, at a compounding rate initially anticipated to be 7.00% per annum but to increase to 9.00% per for the period from (and including) April 25, 2028 to (but excluding) April 25, 2029 and eventually to increase to 11.00% per annum from and after
April 25, 2029 and subject to further increase upon the occurrence of certain events. The per share liquidation preference is equal to the initial issuance price plus all accrued and unpaid dividends, whether or not declared. All payments and dividends in respect of the Series A Preferred Stock will be allocated among the holders thereof pro rata in proportion to the value of the shares of Series A Preferred Stock held thereby. No dividends shall be paid or payable to any other holders the Company’s capital stock unless and until the holders of Series A Preferred Stock have received cumulative distributions equal to the aggregate liquidation preference of the Series A Preferred Stock.
Conversion. Each share of Series A Preferred Stock is convertible, at the holder’s election at any time, into such number of shares of Common Stock (or such other applicable securities in the case of merger, reorganization, recapitalization, reclassification or consolidation) as is determined by dividing (x) the then current accrued liquidation preference of such shares (including any accrued and unpaid dividends since the most recent dividend payment date) by (y) a conversion price of $11.00 per share for such share of Series A Preferred Stock, subject to specified adjustments as set forth in Article IV of the Amended and Restated Charter. No fractional securities will be issued upon conversion of a share of Series A Preferred Stock, and, in lieu of such fractional shares, the Company will pay cash equal to such fraction multiplied by the applicable conversion price.
Optional Redemption. At any time and from time to time on or after April 25, 2027, the Company will have the right, in its sole discretion, to give notice of its election to redeem all or any portion of the outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock, for an amount in cash equal to the then current accrued liquidation preference of such shares (including any accrued and unpaid dividends since the most recent dividend payment date). Prior to
April 25, 2027, in connection with the consummation of certain fundamental changes (as more fully described in the Amended and Restated Charter but including, among other things, certain change-in- control transactions and asset sales), the Company will have the right, in its sole discretion, to give notice of election to redeem all or any portion of the outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock, for an amount in cash equal to the then current accrued liquidation preference of such shares (including any accrued and unpaid dividends since the most recent dividend payment date) plus a make- whole amount determined by reference to the dividends that would be accrued through April 25, 2027, discounted to the date of redemption on a quarterly basis at the treasury rate on the date of the redemption plus 50 basis points. Any redemption of fewer than all of the outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock will be made pro rata in proportion to the value of the shares of Series A Preferred Stock held. No share of Series A Preferred Stock that is converted into Common Stock prior to the applicable redemption date shall be subject to redemption.
Mandatory Redemption. On April 25, 2032, the Company will be required to redeem and purchase all outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock for an amount, in cash, equal to the then current accrued liquidation preference of such shares (including any accrued and unpaid dividends since the most recent dividend payment date), up to but not including April 25, 2032.
Redemption in Connection with Reorganization Events and Fundamental Change Transactions. If the Company undergoes certain fundamental changes (as more fully described in Article IV of the Amended and Restated Charter but including, among other things, certain change-in-control transactions and asset sales), a holder of Series A Preferred Stock may give notice of its election to have us fully redeem all of such holder’s outstanding Series A Preferred Stock, for an amount in cash equal to the then current accrued liquidation preference of such shares (including any accrued and unpaid dividends since the most recent dividend payment date). Such redemption shall not be required if the shares of Series A Preferred Stock are purchased at the above mentioned redemption price (determined by reference to the date upon which such transaction is consummated) in connection with (and no later than the time of consummation of) such fundamental change transaction. If applicable law does not permit us to consummate any such redemption, the Company will be restricted from consummating the applicable fundamental change transaction unless (x) at the closing of the transaction, all of the shares of Series A Preferred Stock are purchased for an amount in cash equal to the abovementioned redemption price (determined by reference to the date upon which such fundamental change occurs) or (y) the Company gives a written notice of the terms and conditions of such transaction, which such notice affords the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock the right, but not the obligation, to elect to engage with us in an alternative transaction on terms that are the same as those of the applicable proposed fundamental change transaction (such right of first refusal described more fully in Article IV of the Amended and Restated Charter).
Voting Rights. The shares of Series A Preferred Stock have no voting rights except as required by Delaware law or with respect to the amendment, alteration or repeal of any provision of the Amended and Restated Charter, whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise, so as to materially and adversely affect any right, preference, privilege or voting powers of the share of Series A Preferred Stock.
2
Consent Rights. For so long as any shares of Series A Preferred Stock remain outstanding, the Company may not, and shall cause its subsidiaries not to, without the written consent or approval of the holders of Series A Preferred Stock representing not less than 55% of the outstanding value of Series A Preferred Stock (provided that at any time during which there are two or more unaffiliated holders of Series A Preferred Stock, this 55% must include at least two unaffiliated holders of Series A Preferred Stock), (i) create, authorize or issue (by reclassification or otherwise) any equity securities of the Company, including any additional shares of Series A Preferred Stock or other security convertible into or exchangeable for any of the Company’s equity securities, having rights, preferences or privileges ranking senior to the Series A Preferred Stock or pari passu with the Series A Preferred Stock, (ii) amend, modify, restate, repeal or make any other change (by amendment, merger, consolidation, operation of law or otherwise) to any provision of the Company’s or the Company’s subsidiaries’ organizational documents in a manner which adversely alters or changes the rights, preferences or privileges of the Series A Preferred Stock (provided that any issuance of securities junior to the Series A Preferred Stock shall not be deemed to be adverse to the Series A Preferred Stock), (iii) prior to payment in full in cash of the liquidation preference on all outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock, effect any dividend or distribution to or redemption of any other shares of the Company’s capital stock or equity securities (other than the shares of Series A Preferred Stock), (iv) amend, modify or waive the terms of the Series A Preferred Stock, (v) effect certain mergers or consolidations or sell all or substantially all of the Company’s and the Company’s subsidiaries’ assets (as more fully described in Article IV of the Amended and Restated Charter) unless the liquidation preference in respect of the Series A Preferred Stock is fully repaid, or in certain circumstances, the Series A Preferred Stock remains outstanding, (vi) consent to the Company’s or any of the Company’s subsidiaries’ liquidation, dissolution or winding up unless, in the case of the Company’s liquidation, dissolution or winding up, the Company shall have delivered to the holders of Series A Preferred Stock not less than 10 business days’ prior written notice of such transaction. The Company also may not, without the prior written consent or approval of the holders of Series A Preferred Stock representing not less than 85% of the outstanding value of Series A Preferred Stock, amend, waive, or modify the Amended and Restated Charter in ways (as more fully described in Article IV of the Amended and Restated Charter) that adversely alter or change the rights, preferences, privileges or obligations of the shares of Series A Preferred Stock. In addition, the Company shall not redeem or otherwise make any dividend or payment on the shares of Series A Preferred Stock other than in cash without the prior written consent or approval of each affected holder of such Series A Preferred Stock.
Warrants
Public Warrants
Each of the outstanding 26,649,874 outstanding warrants, consisting of 17,249,874 public warrants (the “Public Warrants”) and 9,400,000 private placement warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants” and together with the Public Warrants, the “Warrants”), entitles the registered holder to purchase one share of Common Stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below. Pursuant to the Warrant Agreement, a Warrant holder may exercise its Warrants only for a whole number of shares of Common Stock. The Warrants will expire January 24, 2028, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time.
We will not be obligated to deliver any shares of Common Stock pursuant to the exercise of a Warrant and will have no obligation to settle such Warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) with respect to the shares of our Common Stock underlying the Warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to us satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration, or a valid exemption from registration is available. No Warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue a share of Common Stock upon exercise of a Warrant unless the shares of Common Stock issuable upon such Warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the Warrants. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a Warrant, the holder of such Warrant will not be entitled to exercise such Warrant and such Warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any Warrant.
Pursuant to the Warrant Agreement, we have filed with the SEC a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the shares of our Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants, and caused the same to become effective within 60 business days after the Closing (as defined in the Warrant Agreement), and we have agreed to use our commercially reasonable efforts to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those shares of our Common Stock until the Warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the Warrant Agreement; provided that if shares of our Common Stock are at the time of any exercise of a Warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at our option, require holders of Public Warrants who exercise their Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but it will use its commercially reasonably efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. Warrant holders may, during any period when the Company will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise Warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption, but the Company will use its commercially reasonably efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the Warrants for that number of shares of Common Stock equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Common Stock underlying the Warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) less the exercise price of the Warrants by
(y) the fair market value and (B) 0.361. The “fair market value” as used in this paragraph shall mean the volume weighted average price of the shares of Common Stock for the 10 trading days ending on the trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the Warrant Agent.
Redemption of Warrants When the price per Share of Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $18.00.
The Company may redeem the Warrants (except as described herein with respect to the Private Placement Warrants):
•in whole and not in part;
•at a price of $0.01 per Warrant;
•upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each Warrant holder; and
•if, and only if, the closing price per share of Common Stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a Warrant as described under the heading “—Warrants—Public Warrants—Anti- dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three trading days before the Company sends the notice of redemption to the Warrant holders.
3
The Company will not redeem the Warrants as described above unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of our Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of our Common Stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. If and when the Warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company may exercise its redemption right even if the Company is unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
The Company has established the last of the redemption criterion discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the Warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and the Company issues a notice of redemption of the Warrants, each Warrant holder will be entitled to exercise his, her or its Warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price per share of Common Stock may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a Warrant as described under the heading “ —Warrants—Public Warrants—Anti-dilution Adjustments”) as well as the $11.50 (for whole shares) Warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00.
The Company may redeem the outstanding Warrants:
•in whole and not in part;
•at $0.10 per Warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their Warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares determined by reference to the table below, based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” (as defined below) per share of Common Stock except as otherwise described below; if, and only if, the closing price per share of Common Stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per public share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a Warrant as described under the heading “—Warrants—Public Warrants
—Anti- dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within the 30-trading day period ending three trading days before the Company sends the notice of redemption to the Warrant holders; and
•if the closing price per share of Common Stock for any 20 trading days within a 30- trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the Warrant holders is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a Warrant as described under the heading “—Warrants
—Public Warrants—Anti-dilution Adjustments”), the Private Placement Warrants must also be concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding Public Warrants, as described above.
Beginning on the date the notice of redemption is given until the Warrants are redeemed or exercised, holders may elect to exercise their Warrants on a cashless basis. The numbers in the table below represent the number of shares of Common Stock that a Warrant holder will receive upon such cashless exercise in connection with a redemption by the Company pursuant to this redemption feature, based on the “fair market value” per share of Common Stock on the corresponding redemption date (assuming holders elect to exercise their Warrants and such Warrants are not redeemed for $0.10 per Warrant), determined for these purposes based on volume weighted average price per share of Common Stock during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of Warrants, and the number of months that the corresponding redemption date precedes the expiration date of the Warrants, each as set forth in the table below. The Company will provide the Warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the 10-trading day period described above ends.
The share prices set forth in the column headings of the table below will be adjusted as of any date on which the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a Warrant or the exercise price of a Warrant is adjusted as set forth under the heading “ —Anti-dilution Adjustments” below. If the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a Warrant is adjusted, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the share prices immediately prior to such adjustment, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a Warrant immediately prior to such adjustment and the denominator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a Warrant as so adjusted. The number of shares in the table below shall be adjusted in the same manner and at the same time as the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a Warrant. If the exercise price of a Warrant is adjusted, (a) in the case of an adjustment pursuant to the fifth paragraph under the heading “—Anti-dilution Adjustments”, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the unadjusted share price multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price as set forth under the heading “ —Anti-dilution Adjustments” and the denominator of which is $10.00 and (b) in the case of an adjustment pursuant to the second paragraph under the heading “ —Anti-dilution Adjustments”, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the unadjusted share price less the decrease in the exercise price of a Warrant pursuant to such exercise price adjustment.
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Redemption date (period to expiration of Warrants) Fair Market value per share of Common Stock
≤$10.00 | 11.00 | 12.00 | 13.00 | 14.00 | 15.00 | 16.00 | 17.00 | ≥18.00 | |||||||||||||||||||||
60 months | 0.261 | 0.281 | 0.297 | 0.311 | 0.324 | 0.337 | 0.348 | 0.358 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
57 months | 0.257 | 0.277 | 0.294 | 0.310 | 0.324 | 0.337 | 0.348 | 0.358 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
54 months | 0.252 | 0.272 | 0.291 | 0.307 | 0.322 | 0.335 | 0.347 | 0.357 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
51 months | 0.246 | 0.268 | 0.287 | 0.304 | 0.320 | 0.333 | 0.346 | 0.357 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
48 months | 0.241 | 0.263 | 0.283 | 0.301 | 0.317 | 0.332 | 0.344 | 0.356 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
45 months | 0.235 | 0.258 | 0.279 | 0.298 | 0.315 | 0.330 | 0.343 | 0.356 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
42 months | 0.228 | 0.252 | 0.274 | 0.294 | 0.312 | 0.328 | 0.342 | 0.355 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
39 months | 0.221 | 0.246 | 0.269 | 0.290 | 0.309 | 0.325 | 0.340 | 0.354 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
36 months | 0.213 | 0.239 | 0.263 | 0.285 | 0.305 | 0.323 | 0.339 | 0.353 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
33 months | 0.205 | 0.232 | 0.257 | 0.280 | 0.301 | 0.320 | 0.337 | 0.352 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
30 months | 0.196 | 0.224 | 0.250 | 0.274 | 0.297 | 0.316 | 0.335 | 0.351 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
27 months | 0.185 | 0.214 | 0.242 | 0.268 | 0.291 | 0.313 | 0.332 | 0.350 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
24 months | 0.173 | 0.204 | 0.233 | 0.260 | 0.285 | 0.308 | 0.329 | 0.348 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
21 months | 0.161 | 0.193 | 0.223 | 0.252 | 0.279 | 0.304 | 0.326 | 0.347 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
18 months | 0.146 | 0.179 | 0.211 | 0.242 | 0.271 | 0.298 | 0.322 | 0.345 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
15 months | 0.130 | 0.164 | 0.197 | 0.230 | 0.262 | 0.291 | 0.317 | 0.342 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
12 months | 0.111 | 0.146 | 0.181 | 0.216 | 0.250 | 0.282 | 0.312 | 0.339 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
9 months | 0.090 | 0.125 | 0.162 | 0.199 | 0.237 | 0.272 | 0.305 | 0.336 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
6 months | 0.065 | 0.099 | 0.137 | 0.178 | 0.219 | 0.259 | 0.296 | 0.331 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
3 months | 0.034 | 0.065 | 0.104 | 0.150 | 0.197 | 0.243 | 0.286 | 0.326 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
0 months | — | — | 0.042 | 0.115 | 0.179 | 0.233 | 0.281 | 0.323 | 0.361 | ||||||||||||||||||||
The exact fair market value and redemption date may not be set forth in the table above, in which case, if the fair market value is between two values in the table or the redemption date is between two redemption dates in the table, the number of shares of Common Stock to be issued for each Warrant exercised will be determined by a straight-line interpolation between the number of shares set forth for the higher and lower fair market values and the earlier and later redemption dates, as applicable, based on a 365 or 366-day year, as applicable. For example, if the volume weighted average price per share of Common Stock during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the Warrants is $11.00 per share, and at such time there are 57 months until the expiration of the Warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their Warrants for 0.277 shares of Common Stock for each whole Warrant. For an example where the exact fair market value and redemption date are not as set forth in the table above, if the volume weighted average price per share of Common Stock during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the Warrants is $13.50 per share, and at such time there are 38 months until the expiration of the Warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their Warrants for 0.298 shares of Common Stock for each whole Warrant. In no event will the Warrants be exercisable on a cashless basis in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 shares of Common Stock per Warrant (subject to adjustment). Finally, as reflected in the table above, if the Warrants are out of the money and about to expire, they cannot be exercised on a cashless basis in connection with a redemption by the Company pursuant to this redemption feature, since they will not be exercisable for any shares of Common Stock.
This redemption feature is structured to allow for all of the outstanding Warrants to be redeemed when the shares of Common Stock are trading at or above $10.00 per public share, which may be at a time when the trading price per share of Common Stock is below the exercise price of the Warrants.
As stated above, the Company can redeem the Warrants when the shares of Common Stock are trading at a price starting at $10.00 per share, which is below the exercise price of $11.50 per share, because it will provide certainty with respect to the capital structure and cash position while providing Warrant holders with the opportunity to exercise their Warrants on a cashless basis for the applicable number of shares. If the Company chooses to redeem the Warrants when the shares of Common Stock are trading at a price below the exercise price of the Warrants, this could result in the Warrant holders receiving fewer shares of Common Stock than they would have received if they had chosen to wait to exercise their Warrants for shares of Common Stock if and when such shares of Common Stock were trading at a price higher than the exercise price of $11.50 per share.
No fractional shares of Common Stock will be issued upon exercise. If, upon exercise, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, the Company will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of shares of the Company’s Common Stock to be issued to the holder. If, at the time of redemption, the Warrants are exercisable for a security other than shares of the Company’s Common Stock pursuant to the Warrant Agreement, the Warrants may be exercised for such security. At such time as the Warrants become exercisable for a security other than shares of the Company’s Common Stock, the Company (or surviving company) will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register under the Securities Act the security issuable upon the exercise of the Warrants.
Redemption Procedures
A holder of a Warrant may notify the Company in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such Warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the Warrant Agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 9.8% (or such other amount as a holder may specify) of the shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
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Anti-dilution Adjustments
If the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock is increased by a capitalization or share dividend payable in shares of Common Stock, or by a split-up of ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such capitalization or share dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of shares of Common Stock issuable on exercise of each Warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding shares of Common Stock. A rights offering made to all or substantially all holders of shares of Common Stock entitling holders to purchase shares of Common Stock at a price less than the “historical fair market value” (as defined below) will be deemed a share dividend of a number of shares of Common Stock equal to the product of (i) the number of shares of Common Stock actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for shares of Common Stock) and (ii) one minus the quotient of (x) the price per share of Common Stock paid in such rights offering and (y) the historical fair market value. For these purposes, (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for shares of Common Stock, in determining the price payable per share of Common Stock, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) “historical fair market value” means the volume weighted average price per share of Common Stock as reported during the 10 trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the shares of Common Stock trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.
In addition, if the Company, at any time while the Warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pays a dividend or makes a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of shares of Common Stock on account of such shares (or other securities into which the Warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above or (b) any cash dividends or cash distributions which, when combined on a per share basis with all other cash dividends and cash distributions paid on the shares during the 365-day period ending on the date of declaration of such dividend or distribution does not exceed $0.50 (as adjusted to appropriately reflect any other adjustments and excluding cash dividends or cash distributions that resulted in an adjustment to the exercise price or to the number of shares issuable on exercise of each Warrant) but only with respect to the amount of the aggregate cash dividends or cash distributions equal to or less than $0.50 per share, then the Warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each share in respect of such event.
If the number of outstanding share of Common Stock is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse share sub-division or reclassification of the shares of Common Stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse share sub-division, reclassification or similar event, the number of shares of Common Stock issuable on exercise of each Warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding shares of Common Stock.
Whenever the number of shares of Common Stock purchasable upon the exercise of the Warrants is adjusted, as described above, the Warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the Warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of shares of Common Stock purchasable upon the exercise of the Warrants immediately prior to such adjustment and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of shares of Common Stock so purchasable immediately thereafter.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such shares of Common Stock), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of the Company with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which the Company is the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our outstanding shares of Common Stock), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of the Company as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which the Company is dissolved, the holders of the Warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the Warrants and in lieu of the shares of Common Stock immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares of Common Stock or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the Warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their Warrants immediately prior to such event. However, if such holders were entitled to exercise a right of election as to the kind or amount of securities, cash or other assets receivable upon such consolidation or merger, then the kind and amount of securities, cash or other assets for which each Warrant will become exercisable will be deemed to be the weighted average of the kind and amount received per share by such holders in such consolidation or merger that affirmatively make such election, and if a tender, exchange or redemption offer has been made to and accepted by such holders under circumstances in which, upon completion of such tender or exchange offer, the maker thereof, together with members of any group (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) of which such maker is a part, and together with any affiliate or associate of such maker (within the meaning of Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act) and any members of any such group of which any such affiliate or associate is a part, own beneficially (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) more than 50% of the issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock, the holder of a Warrant will be entitled to receive the highest amount of cash, securities or other property to which such holder would actually have been entitled as a shareholder if such Warrant holder had exercised the Warrant prior to the expiration of such tender or exchange offer, accepted such offer and all of the shares of Common Stock held by such holder had been purchased pursuant to such tender or exchange offer, subject to adjustment (from and after the consummation of such tender or exchange offer) as nearly equivalent as possible to the adjustments provided for in the Warrant Agreement. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of shares of Common Stock in such a transaction is payable in the form of shares of Common Stock in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the Warrant properly exercises the Warrant within thirty days following public disclosure of such transaction, the Warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the Warrant Agreement based on the Black-Scholes value (as defined in the Warrant Agreement) of the Warrant. The purpose of such exercise price reduction is to provide additional value to holders of the Warrants when an extraordinary transaction occurs during the exercise period of the Warrants pursuant to which the holders of the Warrants otherwise do not receive the full potential value of the Warrants. The purpose of such exercise price reduction is to provide additional value to holders of the Warrants when an extraordinary transaction occurs during the exercise period of the Warrants pursuant to which the holders of the Warrants otherwise do not receive the full potential value of the Warrants.
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The Warrants were issued in registered form under the Warrant Agreement. The Warrant Agreement provides that the terms of the Warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the Warrant Agreement to the description of the terms of the Warrants and the Warrant Agreement set forth in the prospectus filed by JCIC with the SEC on January 21, 2021, or defective provision, (ii) amending the provisions relating to cash dividends on shares of Common Stock as contemplated by and in accordance with the Warrant Agreement or (iii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the Warrant Agreement as the parties to the Warrant Agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the Warrants, provided that the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then-outstanding Public Warrants is required to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders. You should review a copy of the Warrant Agreement, which has been filed as an exhibit to our 10-K, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the Warrants.
The Warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of shares of Common Stock and any voting rights until they exercise their Warrants and receive shares of Common Stock. After the issuance of the shares of Common Stock upon exercise of the Warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholder.
Private Placement Warrants
Except as described below, the Private Placement Warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the Public Warrants. JCIC Sponsor LLC (“JCIC Sponsor”), or its permitted transferees, has the option to exercise the Private Placement Warrants on a cashless basis. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by holders other than JCIC Sponsor or its permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants. The Private Placement Warrants are also redeemable in accordance with the Warrant Agreement (and must be redeemed if the Public Warrants are being redeemed) if the Reference Value (defined above) equals or exceeds $10.00 per share and does not equal or exceed $18.00 per share.
Except as described above under the heading “—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Share of Common Stock equals or exceeds $10.00,” if holders of the Private Placement Warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering his, her or its Warrants for that number of shares of Common Stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Common Stock underlying the Warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “Sponsor fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the Warrants by (y) Sponsor fair market value. For these purposes, the “Sponsor fair market value” shall mean the average reported closing price per share of Common Stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of Warrant exercise is sent to the Warrant Agent.
Any amendment to the terms of the Private Placement Warrants or any provision of the Warrant Agreement with respect to the Private Placement Warrants will require a vote of holders of at least 65% of the number of the then outstanding Private Placement Warrants.
Board of Directors
The Company’s business and affairs is managed under the direction of its board of directors. Under the Amended and Restated Charter, the Board is divided into three classes, designated as Class I, Class II and Class III, with each class consisting of three (3) directors. The directors first elected to Class I will hold office for a term expiring at the 2023 annual meeting of stockholders; the directors first elected to Class II will hold office for a term expiring at the 2024 annual meeting of stockholders; and the directors first elected to Class III will hold office for a term expiring at the 2025 annual meeting of stockholders. At each succeeding annual meeting of the stockholders of the Company, the successors to the class of directors whose term expires at that meeting will be elected by plurality vote of all votes cast at such meeting to hold office for a term expiring at the annual meeting of stockholders held in the third year following the year of their election.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Pursuant to the Amended and Restated Bylaws, the Board may establish one or more committees to which may be delegated any or all of the powers and duties of the Board to the full extent permitted by law. The Board has established and maintained an audit committee, a governance committee and a compensation committee, and may establish such other committees as it determines from time to time.
Pursuant to the Stockholders Agreement, the Founder Stockholders (as defined below), to the extent they collectively beneficially own (directly or indirectly) at least 10% of the outstanding Common Stock (including any additional shares of Common Stock that may be issued in the future and any shares of capital stock of the Company into which such shares may be converted or for which they may be exchanged) have the right, but not the obligation, to nominate the Chairperson of the Compensation and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees of the Board, subject to satisfaction of applicable SEC and stock exchange requirements. The “Founder Stockholders” consist of certain former direct and indirect equityholders of the Company’s predecessor who are parties to the Stockholders Agreement and identified as “Founder Stockholders” on the signature pages thereto, and which include Mr. James Muchmore (our current Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President), Mr. Timothy Sheehy (our founder, former Chief Executive Officer and director), Mr. Matthew Sheehy (our former director and brother of Mr. Timothy Sheehy), Mr. McAndrew Rudisill (our former Chief Investment Officer and director) and certain affiliated entities of each of the foregoing.
Limitations on Non-Citizens
To assist with the Company’s compliance with Subtitle VII of Title 49 of the United States Code, as the same may be amended from time to time, Article X of the Amended and Restated Charter and Article V of the Amended and Restated Bylaws contain provisions that limit Non-Citizens to not more than (x) 24.9% of the aggregate votes of all the Company’s outstanding voting securities or (y) 49.0% of the aggregate number of the Company’s outstanding equity securities and prohibit certain voting right and transfers of the Company’s securities to ensure that ownership by Non-Citizens will not exceed these amounts. Additionally, such equity securities owned by Non-Citizens may not be voted unless such shares are registered on the separate stock record maintained by the Company or any transfer agent (on behalf of the Company) for the registration of the Company’s equity securities held by Non-Citizens.
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Pursuant to the Amended and Restated Bylaws, at no time shall the number of Non-Citizens who serve as officers or director, respectively, of the Company exceed the limitations provided under Section 40102(a)(15) of Title 49 of the United States Code (which, as of the effective date of the Amended and Restated Bylaws and for informational purposes only, is one-third (1/3) of the total number of officers or director, respectively, then holding office).
“Non-Citizen” means persons or entities who are not “citizens of the United States” as defined in Section 40102(a)(15) under Subtitle VII of Title 49 of the United States Code, as the same may be amended from time to time.
Amendment of Our Charter or Bylaws
The DGCL generally provides that the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on amendments to a corporation’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws is required to approve such amendment, unless a corporation’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws, as applicable, imposes a higher voting standard.
The affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power of all then-outstanding Company Common Stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class, is required to adopt, amend or repeal the Amended and Restated Bylaws and the provisions in the Amended and Restated Charter related to directors, Bylaw amendments, indemnification and limitation of liability on directors and officers, special stockholder meetings and no action by written consent of the stockholders, corporate opportunities waiver, forum selection and amendments to the Charter.
Anti-Takeover Effects of Delaware Law, the Amended and Restated Charter and the Amended and Restated Bylaws
Some provisions of the DGCL, the Amended and Restated Charter and the Amended and Restated Bylaws contain provisions that could make the following transactions more difficult: an acquisition the Company by means of a tender offer; an acquisition of the Company by means of a proxy contest or otherwise; or the removal of the Company’s incumbent officers and directors. It is possible that these provisions could make it more difficult to accomplish or could deter transactions that stockholders may otherwise consider to be in their best interest or in the Company’s best interests, including transactions which provide for payment of a premium over the market price for the Company’s shares.
Stockholder Meetings
The Amended and Restated Bylaws provide that a special meeting of stockholders may be called only by the Chairperson of the Board, our chief executive officer or the Board.
Requirements for Advance Notification of Stockholder Nominations and Proposals
The Amended and Restated Bylaws establish advance notice procedures with respect to stockholder proposals to be brought before a stockholder meeting and the nomination of candidates for election as directors, other than nominations made by or at the direction of the Board or a committee of Board.
Elimination of Stockholder Action by Written Consent
The Amended and Restated Bylaws do not permit stockholders to act by written consent without a meeting.
Staggered Board
The Board is divided into three (3) classes. The directors in each class serve for a three-year term, one class being elected each year by the Company’s stockholders. This system of electing and removing directors may tend to discourage a third-party from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of the Company, because it generally makes it more difficult for stockholders to replace a majority of the directors.
Removal of Directors
The Amended and Restated Charter provides that no member of the Board may be removed from office by the Company’s stockholders except for cause and, in addition to any other vote required by law, upon the approval of at least a majority of the total voting power of all then-outstanding shares of capital stock then entitled to vote in the election of directors.
Stockholders Not Entitled to Cumulative Voting
The Amended and Restated Charter does not permit stockholders to cumulate their votes in the election of directors. Accordingly, the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Common Stock entitled to vote in any election of directors can elect all of the directors standing for election, if they choose, other than any directors that holders of our preferred stock may be entitled to elect.
Delaware Anti-Takeover Statute
The Amended and Restated Charter provides that the Company is not governed by Section 203 of the DGCL which, in the absence of such provisions, would have imposed additional requirements regarding mergers and other business combinations.
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However, the Amended and Restated Charter includes a provision that restricts the Company from engaging in any business combination with an interested stockholder for three (3) years following the date that person becomes an interested stockholder. Such restrictions do not apply to any business combination between JCIC Sponsor, the BTO Stockholders, Banc of America Strategic Investments Corporation, JPMorgan Chase Funding Inc., the Founder Stockholders, and any successors or affiliate thereof or their direct and indirect transferees, on the one hand, and us, on the other.
The Company would be able to enter into a business combination with an interested stockholder if:
(a)before that person became an interested stockholder, the Board approved the business combination or the transaction in which the interested stockholder became an interested stockholder;
(b)upon consummation of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding (but not the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder) those shares owned by (i) persons who are directors and also officers and (ii) employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer;
(c)at or subsequent to such time, the business combination is approved by the Board and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding voting stock of the Company that is not owned by the interested stockholder; or
(d)the stockholder became an interested stockholder inadvertently and (i) as soon as practicable divested itself of ownership of sufficient shares so that the stockholder ceased to be an interested stockholder and (ii) was not, at any time within the three-year period immediately prior to a business combination between the Company and such stockholder, an interested stockholder but for the inadvertent acquisition of ownership.
In general, a “business combination” is defined to include mergers, asset sales and other transactions resulting in financial benefit to a stockholder and an “interested stockholder” is any person who, together with affiliates and associates, is the owner of 15% or more of the Company’s outstanding voting stock or is the Company’s affiliate or associate and was the owner of 15% or more of the Company’s outstanding voting stock at any time within the three-year period immediately before the date of determination. Under the Amended and Restated Charter, an “interested stockholder” does not include JCIC Sponsor, the BTO Stockholders, Banc of America Strategic Investments Corporation, JPMorgan Chase Funding Inc., the Founder Stockholders and any successors or affiliate thereof or their direct and indirect transferees.
This provision of the Amended and Restated Charter could prohibit or delay mergers or other takeover or change in control attempts and, accordingly, may discourage attempts to acquire the Company even though such a transaction may offer the Company’s stockholders the opportunity to sell their stock at a price above the prevailing market price. The existence of this provision may have an anti-takeover effect with respect to transactions not approved in advance by the Board.
Exclusive Forum
The Amended and Restated Charter provides that unless a majority of the Board, acting on behalf of the Company, consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum (which consent may be given at any time, including during the pendency of litigation), the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, another state court located within the State of Delaware or, if no court located within the State of Delaware has jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware), to the fullest extent permitted by law, shall be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Company, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any current or former director, officer or other employee of the Company to the Company or the Company’s stockholders,
(iii) any action asserting a claim against the Company or any of its directors, officers or other employees arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, the Amended and Restated Charter or the Amended and Restated Bylaws (in each case, as may be amended from time to time), (iv) any action asserting a claim against the Company or any of its directors, officers or other employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine of the State of Delaware or
(v) any other action asserting an “internal corporate claim,” as defined in Section 115 of the DGCL, in all cases subject to the court’s having personal jurisdiction over all indispensable parties named as defendants. Subject to the preceding provisions and unless a majority of the Board, acting on behalf of the Company, consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum (which consent may be given at any time, including during the pendency of litigation), the federal district courts of the United States of America, to the fullest extent permitted by law, shall be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any action asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act.
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Exhibit 19.1
BRIDGER AEROSPACE GROUP HOLDINGS, INC. INSIDER TRADING AND CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY
This Insider Trading and Confidentiality Policy (“Policy”) confirms procedures which employees, directors, independent contractors and consultants (“you”) of Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) must follow. This Policy is subject to modification from time to time as the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) deems necessary or advisable. In this Policy, the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries, unless the context otherwise requires.
1.Prohibition Against Trading on Material Nonpublic Information
During the course of your service at the Company, you may become aware of material nonpublic information. It is difficult to describe exhaustively what constitutes “material”
information, but you should assume that any information, positive or negative, which might be of significance to an investor, as part of the total mix of available information, in determining whether to purchase, sell or hold Company stock would be material. Information may be
significant for this purpose even if it would not alone determine the investor’s decision. Examples of “material” information include:
•internal financial information which departs in any way from what the market would expect;
•changes in sales, earnings or dividends;
•an important financing transaction;
•stock splits or other transactions relating to Company stock;
•mergers, tender offers or acquisitions of other companies, or major purchases or sales of assets;
•major management changes;
•entry into, renewals and terminations of large contracts;
•sales or purchases by the Company of its own securities;
•major litigation or regulatory developments;
•significant process or product developments;
•gain or loss of a major customer or supplier;
•major transactions with other companies or entities, such as joint ventures or licensing agreements; and
•a major cybersecurity incident.
Note that this list is merely illustrative and not exhaustive.
“Nonpublic” information is any information which has not yet been disclosed generally to the marketplace. Information received about a company under circumstances which indicate that it is not yet in general circulation should be considered nonpublic. As a rule, you should be able to point to some fact to show that the information is generally available; for example, issuance of a press release by the Company or announcement of the information in The Wall Street Journal or other news publication. Even after the Company has released information to
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the press or the information has been reported, at least one full Trading Day must elapse before you trade in the Company stock. For the purposes of this Policy, a “Trading Day” shall mean any day on which the Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”) is open for trading. For example, if the Company issues a press release containing material information at 6:00 p.m. on a Tuesday, and the Nasdaq is open for trading on Wednesday, persons subject to this Policy shall not be permitted to trade in Company stock until Thursday. If the Company issues a press release containing material information at 6:00 p.m. on a Friday, and the Nasdaq is open for trading on Monday, persons subject to this Policy shall not be permitted to trade in Company stock until Tuesday.
If you are aware of material nonpublic information regarding the Company you are prohibited from trading in Company stock, unless such trade is made pursuant to a properly qualified, adopted and submitted Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Rule 10b5-1 trading plans are discussed in Section 2 of this Policy. You also are prohibited from giving “tips” on material nonpublic information, that is directly or indirectly disclosing such information to any other person, including family members and relatives, so that they may trade in Company stock. Furthermore, if you learn material nonpublic information about another company with which the Company does business, such as a supplier, customer or joint venture partner, or you learn that the Company is planning a major transaction with another company (such as an acquisition), you must not trade in the securities of either the Company or the other company until such information has been made public for at least one full Trading Day.
The policy against trading securities when in possession of material nonpublic information applies to all employees, directors, consultants and independent contractors of the Company as well as to anyone (other than domestic employees) who share their households. It also applies to any person, including former employees and directors of the Company, regardless of whether their relationship with the Company ends, if such person has material nonpublic information related to Company stock.
2.Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plans
Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 provides an affirmative defense against a claim of insider trading if an insider’s trades are made pursuant to a written plan that was adopted in good faith at a time when the insider was not aware of material nonpublic information. It is the Company’s policy that employees and directors may make trades pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan provided that (i) such plan meets the requirements of Rule 10b5-1, (ii) such plan was adopted at a time when the employee or director would otherwise have been able to trade under Section 3 of this Policy and (iii) with respect to any plan adopted by a Specified Person (as defined below) of the Company, adoption of the plan was expressly authorized by the Company’s Legal Department. Note that trades made pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 plans by Specified Persons must still be reported to the Company’s Legal Department pursuant to the second paragraph of Section 4 below.
3.Permitted Trading Periods for Non-Rule 10b5-1 Trades
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Company executive officers and directors and all other employees, and anyone (other than domestic employees) who shares the household of any of the above may only trade Company securities during the period commencing one (1) full Trading Day following a release of quarterly results, and ending on the date that is ten (10) Trading Days prior to the end of the subsequent quarter. Nonetheless, as mentioned above, no trade of Company securities may be made during these periods if the person covered by this Policy possesses material nonpublic information which has not been disseminated in the public market for at least one full Trading Day.
From time to time, upon prior notice to the persons affected, the Company may impose event-specific special blackout periods during which persons subject to this Section 3 are prohibited from trading in Company securities.
The trading restrictions set forth in this Section 3 do not apply to any trades made pursuant to properly qualified, adopted and submitted Rule 10b5-1 trading plans.
4.Pre-clearance; Reporting Trades
In addition to complying with the prohibition on trading during scheduled and event- specific special blackout periods, the Company’s executive officers, directors, controller, vice
president or above level employees, and such other employees as designated by the Company’s Legal Department (“Specified Persons”) must first obtain pre-clearance from the Company’s Legal Department before engaging in any transaction in securities of the Company. A request for pre-clearance should be submitted to the Legal Department at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance of the proposed transaction. If a proposed transaction receives pre-clearance, the pre- cleared trade must be effected within forty-eight (48) hours of receipt of pre-clearance. If the person becomes aware of material nonpublic information before the trade is executed, the pre-clearance is void and the trade must not be completed. Transactions not effected within the time limit become subject to pre-clearance again. If a person seeks pre-clearance and permission to engage in the transaction is denied, then he or she should refrain from initiating any transaction in securities of the Company, and should not inform any other person of the restriction.
We require that all Specified Persons submit to the Company’s Legal Department a copy of any trade order or confirmation or similar communication relating to the purchase or sale of Company securities within one (1) business day of any such transaction. This information is necessary to enable us to monitor trading by executive officers and directors and ensure that all such trades are properly reported. Your adherence to this Policy is vital to your protection as well as the Company’s.
5.Hedging Transactions; Short Sales
Hedging transactions may insulate you from upside or downside price movement in Company stock which can result in the perception that you no longer have the same interests as the Company’s other stockholders. Accordingly, you and your family members who share your
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household may not enter into hedging or monetization transactions or similar arrangements with respect to Company stock, including the purchase or sale of options (puts or calls) or the use of
any other derivative instruments and/or the contribution of Company securities into an exchange fund or swap fund.
In addition, you and your family members who share your household may not, under any circumstances, sell “short” the Company stock.
6.Margin Accounts and Pledging
Securities held in a margin account or pledged as collateral for a loan may be sold without your consent by the broker if you fail to meet a margin call or by the lender in foreclosure if you default on the loan. A margin or foreclosure sale that occurs when you are aware of material nonpublic information may, under some circumstances, result in unlawful insider trading. Because of this danger, you may not hold Company securities in a margin account nor pledge Company securities as collateral for a loan.
7.Exercise of Company Stock Options
The trading restrictions set forth in Sections 1, 3 and 4 do not apply to the exercise of Company stock options (excluding broker-assisted cashless exercise of Company stock options).
8.Confidentiality
Serious problems could be caused for the Company and you by unauthorized disclosure of internal information about the Company, whether or not for the purpose of facilitating improper trading in Company securities. Therefore, Company personnel should not discuss internal matters or developments with anyone outside of the Company, except as required in the performance of regular job requirements.
This prohibition applies specifically (but not exclusively) to inquiries about the Company which may be made by customers (except for ordinary-course customer-sales representative discourse), the press, investment analysts or others in the financial community. It is important that all such communications on behalf of the Company be made in accordance with Company policy. Unless you are expressly authorized to the contrary, if you receive any inquiries of this nature, you should decline comment and refer the inquiry to the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer or Chief Legal Officer.
Even though you must generally keep material, non-public information confidential, this does not limit or interfere with your ability, without notice to or authorization of the Company, to communicate in good faith with any government agency for the purpose of reporting a possible violation of law, or to participate in any investigation or proceeding that may be conducted by any government agency, including by providing documents or other information.
* * *
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THESE ARE VERY SERIOUS MATTERS. INSIDER TRADING IS ILLEGAL AND CAN RESULT IN JAIL SENTENCES AS WELL AS CIVIL PENALTIES, INCLUDING
TRIPLE DAMAGES. EMPLOYEES, INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS OR CONSULTANTS WHO VIOLATE THIS POLICY MAY BE SUBJECT TO DISCIPLINARY ACTION BY THE COMPANY, INCLUDING DISMISSAL OR TERMINATION OF ANY BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP FOR CAUSE. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION OR DOUBT ABOUT THE APPLICABILITY OR INTERPRETATION OF THIS POLICY OR THE PROPRIETY OF ANY DESIRED ACTION, PLEASE SEEK CLARIFICATION FROM OUR CHAIRMAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OR CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER. DO NOT TRY TO RESOLVE UNCERTAINTIES ON YOUR OWN.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The undersigned acknowledges that he/she has read this Insider Trading and Confidentiality Policy and agrees to comply with the restrictions and procedures contained herein.
/ / Signature Date
Name (Please Print)
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Exhibit 21.1
SUBSIDIARIES
| Subsidiary | Jurisdiction of Organization | |||||||||||||
| 1. | AE Côte-Nord Canada Bioenergy Inc. | Canada | ||||||||||||
| 2. | Albacete Aero, Sociedad Limitada | Spain | ||||||||||||
| 3. | Bridger Aerospace Defense Services, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 4. | Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, LLC | Delaware | ||||||||||||
| 5. | Bridger Aerospace Group, LLC | Delaware | ||||||||||||
| 6. | Bridger Aerospace Products and Services, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 7. | Bridger Aerospace, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 8. | Bridger Air Tanker, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 9. | Bridger Air Tanker 1, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 10. | Bridger Air Tanker 2, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 11. | Bridger Air Tanker 3, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 12. | Bridger Air Tanker 4, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 13. | Bridger Air Tanker 5, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 14. | Bridger Air Tanker 6, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 15. | Bridger Air Tanker 7, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 16. | Bridger Air Tanker 8, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 17. | Bridger Aviation Repair, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 18. | Bridger Aviation Services, LLC | Delaware | ||||||||||||
| 19. | Bridger Bighorn, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 20. | Bridger Ground Support, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 21. | Bridger Merger Company, LLC | Delaware | ||||||||||||
| 22. | Bridger Software, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 23. | Bridger Solutions International, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 24. | Bridger Solutions International 1, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 25. | Bridger Solutions International 2, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 26. | Bridger Tanker, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 27. | Bridger Training Services, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 28. | BTOF (Grannus Feeder) - NQ L.P. | Delaware | ||||||||||||
| 29. | Ensyn BioEnergy Canada, Inc. | Canada | ||||||||||||
| 30. | Firetrac.com, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 31. | Flight Test & Mechanical Solutions, Inc. | Delaware | ||||||||||||
| 32. | Ignis Technologies, Inc. | Delaware | ||||||||||||
| 33. | Mountain Air, LLC (d/b/a Bridger Aerospace) | Arkansas | ||||||||||||
| 34. | Northern Fire Management Services, LLC | Montana | ||||||||||||
| 35. | Whitepeak BioEnergy, LLC | Delaware | ||||||||||||
| 36. | Wildfire GP Sub IV, LLC | Delaware | ||||||||||||
Exhibit 23.1
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We consent to the incorporation by reference in Registration Statements No. 333-269456, 333-283699, 333-276720 and 333-276721 on Form S-3, and 333-271338 on Form S-8 of Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. of our report dated March 14, 2025 relating to the financial statements, appearing in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
/s/ Crowe LLP
Atlanta, Georgia
March 14, 2025
Exhibit 31.1
CERTIFICATION
I, Sam Davis, certify that:
1.I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K of Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc.;
2.Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3.Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
4.The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:
a)Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;
b)Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;
c)Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
d)Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and
5.The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
a)All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
b)Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.
Dated: March 14, 2025 | ||||||||
| By: | /s/ Sam Davis | |||||||
| Name: Sam Davis | ||||||||
| Title: Interim Chief Executive Officer | ||||||||
Exhibit 31.2
CERTIFICATION
I, Eric Gerratt, certify that:
1.I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K of Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc.;
2.Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3.Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
4.The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:
a)Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;
b)Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;
c)Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
d)Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and
5.The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
a)All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
b)Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.
Dated: March 14, 2025 | ||||||||
| By: | /s/ Eric Gerratt | |||||||
| Name: Eric Gerratt | ||||||||
| Title: Chief Financial Officer | ||||||||
Exhibit 32.1
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
In connection with the Annual Report of Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, as filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof, (the “Report”), the undersigned officers of the Company hereby certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that to the best of his knowledge:
1.The Report fully complies with the requirements of section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and
2.The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company as of and for the period covered by the Report.
Dated: March 14, 2025 | ||||||||
| By: | /s/ Sam Davis | |||||||
| Name: Sam Davis | ||||||||
| Title: Interim Chief Executive Officer | ||||||||
Dated: March 14, 2025 | ||||||||
| By: | /s/ Eric Gerratt | |||||||
| Name: Eric Gerratt | ||||||||
| Title: Chief Financial Officer | ||||||||