A company that gained notoriety when the CEO canned 900 staff via Zoom is seeking a stock market listing.
Online mortgage originator Better.Com is planning to go public via Aurora Acquisition Corp, a SPAC (special-purpose acquisition company).
It marks something of a turnaround for the business and its CEO Vishal Garg, who in 2021 was visibly emotional as he informed employees of their termination in a brief virtual meeting.
He attributed the layoffs to dwindling mortgage demand and subpar productivity. The incident not only drew widespread criticism but also prompted several top executives to resign.
Although Garg was temporarily sidelined by the company's board, he resumed his role as CEO shortly after.
Interestingly, during this period, Better was already in talks with Aurora regarding a reverse merger that would value the combined businesses at $6 billion.
However, the process was hindered by multiple postponements due to a declining SPAC market in 2022 and subsequent investigations into both companies by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The merger finally received the green light from Better.com shareholders on August 11.
Recent reports reveal that Better faced a $90 million loss in the early months of 2023 and had significantly reduced its workforce. Despite these challenges, the upcoming listing is expected to secure a minimum of $550 million from SoftBank, with a potential additional $200 million on the horizon.