The co-founder of Zillow and Hotwire is the latest high-profile real estate figure to join the blank-check craze.
Spencer Rascoff is co-chairing a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), also known as a blank-check company, that will be seeking to invest in a tech unicorn and take it public, according to Inman.
Rascoff will be joined by co-chair Alexander Klabin, who will soon become executive chairman of Sotheby’s Financial Services. Robert Reid, a former senior managing director at Blackstone, will serve as the SPAC’s CEO, while Michael Clifton, a former principal at the Carlyle Group, will be its chief financial officer.
The SEC filing for Rascoff’s SPAC says it believes “that there are significant opportunities to invest in advantaged growth companies that are well-positioned to benefit from thematic shifts and tech-enabled trends and are valued between approximately $1 billion and $5 billion.”
SPACs have made a comeback in the real estate industry recently. iBuying startup Opendoor recently announced that it will go public by merging with a SPAC that valued the startup at $4.8 billion.
Rascoff co-founded the home listing database Zillow, and served as the company’s CEO for about a decade. In February 2019, Rascoff took a role on the company’s board of directors, while his co-founder Rich Barton became CEO. In April, Rascoff stepped down from Zillow’s board of directors to concentrate on two tech startups.
[Inman] — Keith Larsen