Aurora Acquisition and Better agreed to a fourth amendment to their merger agreement, according to an 8-K filing, extending the agreement end date to March 8, 2023. Better is a digital homeownership company.
In consideration for the extension, Better will reimburse Aurora for expenses up to $15 million. The reimbursement payments will be structured in three tranches: the first payment of up to $7.5 million will be made within 5 business days after the date of Amendment No. 4; the second payment of up to $3.75 million on Jan. 2 and the third payment of up to the remaining $3.75 million will become due upon termination of the merger agreement by mutual consent, and payable on March 8, 2023 or any earlier termination date.
The parties also agreed to amend their merger agreement to waive the exclusivity provisions, allowing Better to discuss alternative financing structures with SB Northstar.
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 2021, 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, in June of this year, 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. Read more.
