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Spencer Rascoff launches second SPAC

Zillow co-founder's first blank-check raised $350M in October

Spencer Rascoff (Photo by Kevin Scanlon/Illustration by Kevin Rebong for The Real Deal)
Spencer Rascoff (Photo by Kevin Scanlon/Illustration by Kevin Rebong for The Real Deal)

Why have one SPAC when you could have two?

Zillow co-founder Spencer Rascoff, who raised $350 million for his first blank-check firm this fall, has just launched a second SPAC, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday. Dubbed Supernova Partners Acquisition Company II, the SPAC is looking to raise $250 million to invest in the “broader technology sector,” the filing shows. It is targeting companies valued between $1 billion and $5 billion.

Rascoff, who stepped down as CEO of Zillow in 2019 and last second-home startup Pacaso last year , has been a cheerleader for SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies, that take companies public via reverse merger. In October, he tweeted that “SPACs remedy many of the problems with IPOs and offer new benefits. ”

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With Supernova II, Rascoff is again co-chairing the SPAC with Alexander Klabin, a hedge funder who is executive chairman at Sotheby’s Financial Services, a branch of the auction house that deals with art financing. Robert Reid, a former Blackstone Group exec, will serve as CEO, and Michael Clifton, a former principal at the Carlyle Group, will be its CFO.

During last year’s SPAC frenzy, 248 blank-check firms went public, raising $83 billion. So far this year, 134 SPACs have gone public, raising $40.4 billion, according to SPAC Insider.

More than a dozen SPACs are focused on proptech, including Fifth Wall Ventures, which closed a $345 million SPAC offering this week. Over the past few months, startups including Porch.com and Opendoor have gone public via SPACs. Several others, including smart-glass maker View; smart-lock startup Latch; and VR company Matterport are set to follow.

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