Rumble in the SPAC Jungle with 3 deals today

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Former President Donald Trump's new social media venture is seeking to raise up to $1 billion by selling shares to hedge funds and family offices at several times the valuation it commanded in a deal with a blank-check acquisition firm in October, two people familiar with the matter said.

Trump Media & Technology Group, which has yet to roll out the social media app it says it is developing, already stands to receive $293 million if its deal to list in New York through a merger with blank-check firm Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC) is completed.

The deal valued Trump Media at $875 million, including debt. Trump Media is now seeking to raise up to an additional $1 billion at a valuation of close to $3 billion, to reflect Digital World's share rally after Trump supporters and day traders snapped up the stock, the sources said.

It is the clearest indication yet that Trump and the Digital World dealmakers are seeking to capitalize on the market euphoria around their venture, which has so far been fueled by its ambitious goals rather than a business that is up and running.

Digital World shares were valued at $10 each in the deal with Trump Media. Trump Media is now looking to secure a so-called private investment in public equity (PIPE) that would value Digital World shares closer to their recent price, currently hovering around $40, the sources said. It is a departure from most PIPE deals, which are typically done at $10 per share, and would result in a much greater dilution of existing Digital World investors.

The sources added that Digital World shares may be valued based on a 20% discount of their 10-day, volume-weighted average price.

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Trump has also been personally involved. He has been calling some investors to ask them to make a commitment to the PIPE of more than $100 million, the second of the sources said.

Hotel platform Selina has reached a deal to go public through a merger with blank-check company Boa Acquisition Corp. (BOAS), according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The combined company will be valued at $1.2 billion, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. The transaction includes a $70 million equity placement from South Light Capital, MORE Investment House and Ronald Cohen, co-founder of Apax Partners, the people said.

The agreement is expected to be announced as soon as Thursday, the people said.

Representatives for Selina and Boa declined to comment.

Founded by Rafael Museri and Daniel Rudasevski, London-based Selina targets Generation Z and Millennial travelers. It operates vacation rentals as well as co-working spaces in what it calls “buildings with character,” according to its website, which also advertises wellness and other events that are hosted at its locations.

The company targets non-traditional travel destinations picked by locals. In addition to the U.K. and U.S., countries with Selina locations include Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama and Brazil, among others, its website shows.

One day after announcing an amendment to its SPAC agreement, digital mortgage lender Better.com [merging with Aurora Acquisition Corp. (AURC)] confirmed today that it is laying off roughly 9% of its nearly 10,000 person staff.

Doing the math, that amounts to about 900 people.

The company declined to comment beyond the following written statement from CFO Kevin Ryan: “A fortress balance sheet and a reduced and focused workforce together set us up to play offense going into a radically evolving homeownership market.”

People familiar with internal happenings in the company, which is set to go public in the near future at a $6.9 billion valuation, told TechCrunch that a few factors drove the decision behind the staff reductions.

For one, the mortgage market is expected to contract pretty significantly after 18 months of rapid expansion driven by historically lower interest rates. Better has been vocal about its desire to build out its purchase experience and move beyond digital lending to help people find and purchase homes. It’s also working to expand value-added offerings like title and homeowner’s insurance as part of its product suite.

Bottom line, the company has “too many people in the wrong places,” according to our sources, who preferred to remain anonymous.

This also appears to be a case of technology replacing human labor. Better’s automation efforts means fewer manual process and a business that is more machine-driven, hence the need for fewer human resources.

The layoffs are primarily taking place in the U.S. and India, the sources said.