Integrated Wellness Acquisition Corp

Steven Schapera, as CEO and Chairman, leads the sponsor team and holds ultimate authority over target selection and merger execution. Hadrien Forterre, the CFO, oversees financial due diligence and structuring. Because the firm is a blank-check company with no operating history, all material decisions are also subject to shareholder approval at a merger vote.

The firm initially had 18 months from its December 2021 IPO to complete a deal. In May 2024, shareholders approved an extension to August 2024, giving the sponsor team additional time to finalize a business combination before being required to liquidate the trust and return capital to public shareholders (per SEC filing, May 2024).

The firm is focused on the health, wellness, and beauty sectors, with a stated interest in businesses operating in digital health, personalized nutrition, functional medicine, fitness technology, and clean beauty. The target should have a defensible brand, scalable operations, and a path to public-market growth, per the firm's registration statement filed with the SEC in 2021.

Schapera founded BECCA Cosmetics, a prestige beauty brand, and oversaw its growth before its acquisition by The Estée Lauder Companies. This operating track record provides direct experience in scaling a brand within the broader health-and-beauty value chain, from product development through distribution to a successful exit (per SEC filing, 2021).

The $115 million raised in the IPO was placed into a trust account and remains invested in short-term U.S. government securities. If the sponsor team fails to announce and complete a business combination by the extended deadline in August 2024, the trust will be liquidated and the proceeds returned to public shareholders at approximately $10.00 per share, consistent with the SPAC's governing documents.

As of mid-2024, the firm has not publicly announced a definitive merger agreement with any target. SEC filings and public statements have been limited to procedural extensions without naming any specific operating businesses under consideration.

Steven Schapera was previously the founder and CEO of BECCA Cosmetics and also led the venture-backed beauty technology platform Perfect365. Hadrien Forterre held positions in investment banking and was a managing director at a private equity firm focused on consumer and retail investments, according to biographical information in the firm's registration statement.