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We didn\u2019t think we\u2019d see the day.<\/span><\/p>\n Digital mortgage lender <\/span>Better.com\u2019s<\/span><\/a> proposal to combine with Aurora Acquisition Corp. via a SPAC (special purpose acquisition) has been approved by shareholders, the company confirmed today.<\/span><\/p>\n According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) <\/span>filing<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Better.com will combine with Aurora, or go public, \u201con or about August 22, 2023.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAt least 65% of the outstanding ordinary shares of the company entitled to vote at this meeting have voted in favor of (the) proposal,\u201d Arnaud Massenet, CEO of Aurora Acquisition Corp, said in a shareholder\u2019s meeting on Friday, as reported by <\/span>HousingWire<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Upon the closing of the transaction, the combined entity will see an infusion of $750 million in new capital, according to Aurora\u2019s <\/span>filing<\/span><\/a> with the <\/span>Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in July and as reported by HousingWire.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Better.com had <\/span>originally began <\/span>making plans to go public<\/span><\/a> via a $6 billion SPAC in May 2021. Things took a dramatic turn for the worse later that year, and the <\/span>SPAC was delayed<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n With so many challenges facing Better.com over the past two years \u2013 including layoffs<\/a>, high-profile executive resignations<\/a>, a housing market slowdown and negative publicity \u2013 industry observers were skeptical that the company\u2019s going-public plans would actually materialize.<\/span><\/p>\n TechCrunch reported last week that the long-awaited vote for Better.com to go public was scheduled for today ahead of the extended deadline to complete the merger deal on September 30.<\/span><\/p>\n In late July, Aurora had said in an SEC filing that shareholders would be asked to vote on a proposal that if the SPAC merger did take place, with Aurora surviving the merger, Aurora would change its name to \u201cBetter Home & Finance Holding Company.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Last year, Better.com declared that it intended to move forward with its planned public debut, despite the lackluster performance <\/span>of blank-check combinations in previous quarters<\/span><\/a>. Better.com itself had seen its fair share of turbulence since it announced its plans to merge with a SPAC, including multiple botched layoffs (more on those <\/span>here<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>) and changing market conditions that impacted parts of its business, including a surge in mortgage interest rates.<\/span><\/p>\n Last week, TechCrunch reported that the SEC had said it <\/span>did not intend to recommend an enforcement action<\/span><\/a> against Better.com. The <\/span>pronouncement<\/span><\/a> came after an investigation on the part of the SEC to determine if violations of federal securities laws had occurred.<\/span><\/p>\n Last July, the SEC began looking into whether Better.com had <\/span>violated federal securities laws<\/span><\/a>, requesting documents from both the company and SPAC partner Aurora Acquisition Corp. about their business activities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The <\/span>embattled fintech startup<\/span><\/a> laid off its real estate team<\/span><\/a> on June 7, shifting from an in-house agent model to a partnership agent model. It also continues to bleed cash.<\/span><\/p>\n According to HousingWire, other Aurora filings from July show that Better.com had posted a <\/span>net loss of $89.9 million <\/span><\/a>in Q1 2023 and had slashed about 91% of its workforce over an approximately 18-month period. <\/span>While Better.com seems to have narrowed its loss compared to <\/span>a net loss of $327.7 million<\/span><\/a> in the first quarter of 2022, it\u2019s clearly still struggling.<\/span><\/p>\n Want more fintech news in your inbox? Sign up for The Interchange <\/span><\/i>here<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n