SmartRent.com Inc., which sells smart home technology systems to apartment building owners and developers, intends to make itself public through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company that values the launch of the proprietary technology at $ 2.2 billion, according to well-known people. with the subject.
SmartRent, whose technology is used in some 185,000 apartments in the United States and Canada, plans to announce on Thursday that it will merge with Fifth Wall Acquisition Corp., which raised about $ 345 million in an initial public offering in early this year, people said. The special-purpose company was sponsored by Fifth Wall, a venture capital firm that invested in SmartRent last year through one of its funds.
Separately, some of the top U.S. apartment building owners and home developers — who are also SmartRent customers — have agreed to invest a total of $ 155 million in the start-up, according to people they know. the subject. This group includes the Blackstone group Inc.,
Starwood Capital Group LLC, Lennar Corp.
and invitation homes Inc.,
said the people.
The merger, which is expected to close later this year following a regulatory review and a shareholder vote, would be one of the most important offers of the moment with a nearby technology company and an acquisition company specials. SPACs, also called blank verification companies, have become popular in the capital markets and among high-tech companies over the past year because they allow private companies to make public faster and more securely than price offers. traditional initial public.
SmartRent, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, was founded in 2017 by Lucas Haldeman, former chief technology officer of Colony Starwood Homes, later known as Starwood Waypoint Homes and merged into Invitation Homes, one of the largest rental owners of family homes. His idea was to give rental units many of the smart home features that have been used a lot more in the homes that people own than in the ones that people rent.
Owners can use SmartRent technology to operate and control thermostats, utilities, security, and plumbing from a computer or smartphone. Landlords can also offer their tenants apps that support these features along with other smart home technologies, such as Siri and Alexa virtual assistants, which tenants choose to add.
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