Digital mortgage lender Better.com and P2P marketplace for on-demand ride hailing services Wanshun Technology are going public in the US through business combinations with special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs).
China’s Wanshun Technology to go public in US
Wanshun Technology Industrial Group (Wanshun), a peer-to-peer marketplace for on-demand ride hailing services in China, has agreed to go public in the US through a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) AlphaVest Acquisition Corp.
The proposed combination has already been approved by the boards of directors of both AlphaVest and Wanshun and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year or early next year, according to an announcement.
As a result of the merger, AlphaVest shareholders are expected to receive shares of Wanshun capital stock valued at approximately $300 million.
Established in 2016, Wanshun operates an app-based ride-hailing service with around 5.8 million registered drivers in 350 cities across China. The company offers drivers subscription plans to enhance driver loyalty and stickiness to its platform, alongside the traditional commission-based fee structure.
AlphaVest Acquisition Corp, on the other hand, raised $60 million in its IPO and began trading on the Nasdaq in December last year. The SPAC earlier said it intended to focus its search on businesses in Asia.
Fintech firm Better.com to combine with Aurora Acquisition
Digital mortgage lender Better.com is combining with blank cheque firm Aurora Acquisition to go public in the US via the SPAC route, according to an announcement.
Aurora, which closed on a $220-million IPO in April 2021, said shareholders had voted to approve the merger, with the closing expected to take place on August 22, 2023. Better has also received the green light from its stockholders to approve the business combination.
The combined entity, which will be named Better Home & Finance Holding Company, is expected to get $550 million in new capital from SoftBank, according to Aurora’s SEC filing in July. It could receive another $200 million once it starts trading on the Nasdaq.
Better.com serves customers in all 50 US states and the UK through its suite of financing products, including residential mortgage, insurance, and real estate services. In just six years since its launch, the company funded more than $100 billion in mortgage volume.