Startup mortgage lender Better HoldCo is going public via a merger with special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC) Auroa Acquisition Corp. in a deal with an equity value of about $6.9 billion and a post-money equity value of about $7.7 billion, the companies said in a joint statement Tuesday. Softbank will invest another $1.5 billion via a PIPE, or private investment in public equity, once the deal closes. Better, a digital platform that was founded in 2016, will have $778 million of primary proceeds to fund growth, said the statement. The company has more than $24.2 billion in loan volume, has placed $7.7 billion in title insurance, $1.4 billion in homeowners insurance and $691 million in real estate transaction volume. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
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