SmartRent.com, a leading smart home and smart building automation provider, has completed a business combination with Fifth Wall Acquisition Corp. I, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by an affiliate of Fifth Wall, a venture capital firm focused on the global real estate industry and proptech. As part of the completion of the business combination, the company has changed its name to SmartRent, Inc., and started trading Aug. 25 on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SMRT.
“We are thrilled to have reached this important milestone in our company’s history and are excited to embark on this next phase of our journey to make smart home technology accessible for everyone,” said Lucas Haldeman, SmartRent CEO. “We are experiencing strong demand for our value-enhancing, open architecture, and hardware-agnostic operating system that provides cost savings and additional revenue opportunities to property owners while helping them achieve their sustainability goals.”
According to Haldeman, the transaction will help the company accelerate its growth strategy. Founded in 2017, the SmartRent platform is designed to provide property managers with visibility and control over their assets while delivering cost savings and revenue opportunities through all-in-one home control offerings for residents.
“Before SmartRent, the real estate industry lacked an integrated software management platform that could deliver a smart home experience for real estate operators,” said Brendan Wallace, CEO of Fifth Wall Acquisition Corp. I. “SmartRent has since become the de facto smart platform for some of the nation’s largest real estate owners, and we are proud to be their partner during this next phase of growth.”
In connection with the transaction, SmartRent received approximately $450 million in cash, net of transaction fees and expenses, which includes $155 million from a previously announced private placement of common stock (PIPE). The PIPE is anchored by leading real estate companies, SmartRent customers, and institutional investors, including Starwood Capital, Lennar, Invitation Homes, Koch Real Estate Investments, Baron Capital Group, D1 Capital Partners, Long Pond Capital, and Conversant Capital.
Since announcing the business combination in April, SmartRent has expanded into student housing, launched Smart Intercom and Alloy Access Solo to further expand its access control offerings, and created an exclusive integration with map visualization technology firm Engrain to optimize its new parking management solution Alloy Parking. It also has seen substantial growth with expansion to 182 customers, which own an aggregate of 3.5 million rental units and include 15 of the nation’s top 20 multifamily owners as of June 30.
SmartRent’s existing senior management team will continue to lead the combined company, including Haldeman, chief operating officer Demetrios Barnes, chief product officer Mitch Karren, chief technology officer Isaiah DeRose-Wilson, chief revenue officer CJ Edmonds, and chief financial officer Jonathan Wolter.
For SmartRent, JPMorgan Securities and Morgan Stanley & Co. acted as co-financial advisors and DLA Piper acted as its legal counsel. Morgan Stanley & Co. and JPMorgan Securities were lead placement agents on the PIPE for Fifth Wall Acquisition Corp. I. Also for Fifth Wall Acquisition Corp. I, Deutsche Bank Securities and Goldman Sachs & Co. acted as capital markets advisors, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher served as legal counsel, and Moelis & Co. acted as financial advisor to the board of directors. Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett served as counsel to the placement agents.
