The Beneficient Company, a technology-enabled platform providing liquidity, data, custody and trust services to holders of alternative assets, agreed to go public via a SPAC merger with Avalon Acquisition in a $3.5bn deal. “We began Beneficient based on the simple, yet ambitious belief that individual investors and smaller institutions should be empowered with the same opportunities as large institutional investors when it came to their alternative investments. We are working to democratize the industry starting with a simple, secure, rapid and cost-effective solution to what we saw as the most foundational and pressing need: liquidity. Today’s announcement with Avalon validates our belief in Ben’s value and industry-redefining business plan and is a testament to the dedication of everyone at Ben who has made this possible," Brad Heppner, Beneficient Founder and CEO.