Dec 8, 2021 - Economy

Better.com delays close of $7.7B reverse merger after mass layoffs

Dan Primack

n "Open House" sign outside a home in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021 — An "Open House" sign outside a home in Nashville, Tennessee, on Oct. 24. Photo: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Better.com, a New York-based home mortgage startup backed by SoftBank, is delaying the close of its $7.7 billion reverse merger with Aurora Acquisition Corp.

Why it matters: The move comes after the company fired around 900 employees, or 9% of its workforce, via Zoom. Yes, via Zoom. And, just to add insult to injury, that video conference from hell came 24 hours after Better received an accelerated $750 million infusion from investors in the SPAC merger.

Cap table: Prior to the SPAC deal, Better had raised around $950 million from firms like SoftBank, Ping An, L Catterton, Activant Capital, Fenway Summer Ventures, IA Ventures, 1/10 Capital and Goldman Sachs.

The bottom line: Officially, the merger delay is to allow Better and Aurora to get regulatory approvals for their amended SPAC investment terms. Unofficially, it's to give the company time to extinguish its raging dumpster fire.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly listed CapitalG among Better.com's investors.

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Better.com delays close of $7.7B reverse merger after mass layoffs

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