What happened
The stock market started off the week on a somewhat negative note. While the Nasdaq was slightly higher on Monday morning, most other major indexes were in the red.
One major exception to stocks' downward trend was Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings II (IPOB), which was up by more than 11% as of 11 a.m. EST Monday.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings II is a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, that agreed in September to take real estate disruptor Opendoor public by way of a merger. There is a shareholder vote scheduled for Dec. 17 to officially approve the deal, but it is virtually certain to be approved.
Today, the company announced the pending transfer of its shares from its NYSE-listed SPAC to the Nasdaq, as well as the pending name change to Opendoor Technologies. The new shares will trade under the symbol OPEN (OPENW for the SPAC's warrants).
We already knew about the plans for the new symbol and the new name. The big news today is that we now have a date. The business combination with Opendoor is expected to be complete on Dec. 18, and Opendoor Technologies is expected to begin trading under its new symbol on Monday, Dec. 21.
Now what
When it comes to SPAC investing, even after the acquisition target is found and announced, there's significant risk that the deal could be delayed or not be finalized at all. Today's news gives investors a clear finish line, and it seems to be well received.
