Better.com – the digital lender intends to file for an IPO confidentially with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Q1 2021. The company will seek to top the $4 billion valuation it was given in its most recent funding round.
Update Dec 7, 2021: The closing of mortgage and real estate startup Better.com's deal to go public through a transaction with SPAC Aurora Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:AURC) is said to be delayed.
- Below you will find detailed instructions how to participate in the Better.com IPO (pre-IPO, offering price)👇
What is an IPO and how it works
IPO is a process of offering shares of a private corporation to the public in a new stock issuance. Why go public? The primary benefit of going public is easier access to capital.
To go public, a company must have a track record of growth and other favorable results and hire an investment bank to come in and underwrite the IPO (Bank of America and Morgan Stanley in Better.com case). The underwriters also performed due diligence and verified financial information and business model.
Once the paperwork done, the company sells the stock to institutional investors. When the initial block of shares has been sold, the company sets an initial price and date for the stock to begin trading on a stock exchange.
Company profile before Better.com IPO
Founded in 2016, Better.com democratized the home-financing ecosystem, replacing it with a digitized process that eliminates commissions, fees, unnecessary steps, and time-wasting branch appointments. In addition to providing mortgage rates in seconds, Better.com’s platform offers a digital marketplace featuring competitive quotes from an array of
insurance providers for seamless purchase of a homeowner's insurance policy and instant access to leading real estate agents across the country.
To date, Better.com has done $7.9B in home loans and $1B in insurance.
Better.com Summary Metrics
Founding Date | 2014 |
Better Mortgage total Funding | $905 m |
Better Mortgage latest funding size | $500 m |
Time since last funding | 8 months ago |
Better Mortgage investors | Kleiner Perkins, Goldman Sachs, IA Ventures, American Express Ventures, Citigroup, Activant Capital, Pine Brook Partners, Softbank, 1/0 Capital, L Catterton, Ally Financial, Kleiner Perkins C & B, Ping An Global Voyager Fund, 9Yards Capital, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), AGNC Ventures, Pine Brook |
How to Buy Stocks Before Better.com IPO (Offering Price)
In the past, IPOs as highly profitable investments were available only to the privileged customers of the leading brokerage firms and it was challenging for retail investors to gain access. You couldn't buy shares paying the price set by the company and you had to wait until the shares actually start trading on the public stock market at whatever stock price supply and demand allows.
Technologies and marketplaces changed the rules of the game, now regular investors can get pre-IPO shares. To participate in Better.com IPO you need to use an IPO investing app like Freedom Finance (NASDAQ: FRHC), TD Ameritrade or Fidelity. They give its customers access to IPOs and secondary offerings through their existing brokerage account. Also you can buy Better.com shares when the company goes public via a commission-free trading app like eToro.
🚨 Detailed Instructions How to Participate in the Better.com IPO before public trading:
Below we share the instruction how to participate in the approaching Better.com IPO using Freedom Finance (Freedom24 platform). This marketplace is chosen as an example because our community fellows already participated in many IPOs via this platform and participation process is well known.
- Pros: most high-profile IPOs are available for participation via Freedom Finance, no eligibility requirements, no number of previous trades needed and low minimum investment amount for participating in an IPO.
- Cons: the user interface of the platform is a bit outdated.
* Freedom Finance services are NOT available to US citizens and residents.
- Apply for a Freedom Finance account — you need to prepare your identity document and a document confirming the address of residence (utility bill). The verification process is very fast, it will take 2 minutes to create your account.
- Deposit your account — to participate in an IPO, your account must have available funds in the amount you send IPO application for.
- 💡 Tip: It's recommended to deposit your account in advance. Often the exact IPO date is undefined until the last day. You may have a short notice for participation and account deposits also takes time for processing. Also, sometimes Freedom sends last-minute IPO offer when you have 2 hours to participate.
- Wait for a request to participate in the IPO — when Better.com IPO date is defined you will get a notification (email and SMS text message) from Freedom Finance to apply for the IPO.
- Submit a request to participate in the IPO — when you get a notification that you can apply to buy shares, go to IPO section of the platform > you will see the IPO listing with the share price set by the underwriter > click Participate in the IPO > input the amount you want to invest > Send your application. Note: Before the book closing, a request can be withdrawn. At the time of the book closing, 1 day before the start of the exchange trading, the specified amount will be blocked on the account.
- Wait for allocation — The actual number of stocks purchased during an IPO depends on supply and demand. The higher underwriter reserves the right to partial execution of collective applications. So if the demand is high you may get less than you applied for. Of course, you will only pay for the shares purchased. The rest of the funds will be returned to your account.
- Start of trading — With the beginning of the public trading on the stock exchange, the purchased shares will appear on the account and a lock-up period will start— a 93-day period of prohibition on sale. You can’t sell stocks, but you can track their current value and growth indicators in your personal member area and a trading terminal.
- Closing your trade — At the end of the 93 days lock-up period, you will be able to manage your stocks at your discretion — leave in the portfolio or sell and withdraw money or transfer the stocks to another depository/ broker in your name. This can be done in your account by clicking the ‘Sell’ button next to the name of the security. In this case, a commission of 0.5% of the amount of the sale transaction is charged.
Is investing in IPOs profitable?
Not always. The average return at the end of the lock-up period is 52%, past IPOs data.
When is the Better.com IPO date
Better.com IPO date is not defined yet.
We will update when the exact Better.com date IPO is known – if you want to get notified please subscribe for updates here.
What is Better.com IPO price range?
We will update when the Better.com IPO offering price is known – if you want to get notified please subscribe for updates here.
Instruction How to Invest in Better.com after the IPO date (opening price)?
After the IPO you can buy Better.com stocks via Freedom24 on the first trading day. Or if you're from US use a commission-free trading app like eToro
In what currency Better.com IPO and post-IPO shares will be traded?
The Better.com IPO and stock trading currency will be USD.
If you have funds in another currency the cheapest way to convert your currency is to use the mid-market rate (that’s the one you’ll find on Google) which can be done via a fintech service like Transferwise. Banks may add hidden markups to their exchange rates - charging you more without your knowledge. And if they have a fee, they charge you twice. TransferWise never hides fees in the exchange rate.
What is the Better.com ticker (stock symbol)
We will update when the Stripe IPO ticker is known – if you want to get notified please subscribe for updates here.
AB Expert
Sources used: Bloomberg, Crunchbase
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