Opendoor is going public through a merger with Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings 2 in a deal that gives the property technology start-up an enterprise value of $4.8bn.
The deal marks the latest milestone in a tumultuous year for Opendoor, which buys homes digitally, makes minor repairs and lists the properties for sale. After the pandemic forced the company to pause operations, CEO Eric Wu announced plans to lay off 35% of its staff. “The trade-off between profitability and broad appeal is an interesting question,” said Tom White, an analyst at DA Davidson & Company. “For these businesses to have the broadest appeal and best shot at widespread adoption by home sellers, they’ve got to get their pricing as competitive as possible relative to a sale through a traditional agent.”