Blank-Check Firm PropTech Agrees to Merger With Porch.com

(Bloomberg) -- Blank-check company PropTech Acquisition Corp. agreed to merge with Porch.com Inc., a technology company focused on home services.

The deal gives the combined company an enterprise value of $523 million, according to a statement Friday that confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report. Wellington Management Co. is investing $150 million as part of the deal.

Shares in PropTech were up 1.2% at $10.60 at 9:27 a.m. in New York.

Mergers with special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, have become a popular way for companies to go public as the coronavirus pandemic upends the equity markets. Fitness franchise F45 Training Holdings Inc. and potato chip maker Utz Quality Foods announced SPAC deals in recent months.

PropTech raised $172 million in an initial public offering in November with the goal of making an acquisition in the real estate technology space, according to regulatory filings.

Porch has raised capital from investors including Valor Equity Partners, Lowe’s Cos., Founders Fund and Battery Ventures, according to a press release.

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