Better.com gears up to go public through SPAC merger
New York-based digital mortgage lender Better.com is set to go public via an IPO this month by merging with the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Aurora Acquisition Corp.
Better.com to merge with Aurora Acquisition Corp
Aurora CEO, Arnaud Massenet, confirmed that “at least 65%” of its shareholders had approved the deal as of 11 August, while a listing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gave the indication that the deal could close “on or about” 22 August 2023.
The merger is set to connect the lender with up to $750 million in capital, $550 million of which is to be derived through a subscription agreement with the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, as per a separate listing with the SEC made in July. SoftBank’s contribution could rise to another $100 million if it were to match a $100 million contribution from the investment firm Novator.
Better’s journey to going public has been a long one. The lender had originally announced its plans for a SPAC merger back in May 2021 before delaying the move.
The company’s founder and CEO Vishal Garg was most notably subject to significant backlash in December 2021 after laying off 15% of the company’s workforce, around 900 employees, via a Zoom call.
The company then initiated a fresh wave of redundancies the following March, announcing that it was to axe an additional 3,000 employees, almost a third of its workforce.
