Chamath Palihapitiya, Founder and CEO of Social Capital, presents during the 2018 Sohn Investment Conference in New York City, U.S., April 23, 2018. Although SPACs raised just $13 billion last year, this week produced a deal that looks like it could have happened during the heyday. From U.S. presidential hopefuls’ forays to a continued SPAC king’s virality, SPACs’ reach is a reminder that they are hard to kill. This week, one of those SPACs bought Better.com, a mortgage lender led by Vishal Garg and backed by SoftBank Group (9984.T). They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

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Persons: Chamath Palihapitiya, Brendan McDermid, SPACs, Vishal Garg, Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy, lister Chamath Palihapitiya, Anita Ramaswamy, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: Social Capital, Investment, REUTERS, Reuters, SoftBank Group, Securities and Exchange Commission, X, KKR, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S