Better HoldCo, a digital homeownership company, in a press release said merger partner Aurora Acquisition submitted amendment No. 6 to its Form S-4 registration statement with the SEC.
If approved, the deal is expected to produce $750 million for Better, a mortgage and real estate startup backed by SoftBank Group.
When announced in May 2021, the transaction valued the merged companies at $6.9 billion. It’s been a rocky road ever since.
Both parties faced a lawsuit last year over the deal’s lock-up positions. Better acquired U.K.-based startup Property Partner in September. In December, Aurora revised the merger agreement to replace the SPAC’s cash in trust and PIPE with bridge financing and convertible notes. Later that month, Better’s CEO laid off 900 employees via Zoom, triggering a public relations backlash. More layoffs followed in May of this year.
Then, last month, another lawsuit. Better CEO Vishal Garg allegedly misled investors in his effort to keep them on board with his plans to take the company public, an ex-executive said in a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.
A Better spokesperson, quoting a lawyer for the company said the claims are “without merit” and that the company is confident in its financial and accounting practices and “will vigorously defend this lawsuit.” Read more.
