Financial Service Startup SoFi is Merging with Chamath Palihapitiya’s Newest SPAC
Consumer financial services startup SoFi is going public via a merger with special purpose acquisition company Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp V, one of a series of blank-check companies formed by venture capital investor Chamath Palihapitiya.
The deal, confirmed by SoFi, would value the fintech at $8.65 billion according to the company’s statement. It includes $2.4 billion in cash, encompassing $1.2 billion from a confirmed private placement (a PIPE instrument being led by Palihapitiya himself with participation from Altimeter, Baron Capital Group, BlackRock, Coatue, and others), $805 million in funding from the SPAC’s balance sheet, and additional funds from a prior investment into SoFi closed last month led by T. Rowe Price.
An agreement to take SoFi public via a SPAC has been rumored for weeks. This latest advancement, which reveals Palihapitiya as the possible SPAC connection, was first reported by Reuters.
