In a move that is one of the first of its kind for the industry, Mercury Network, an appraisal management system, announced it acquired Platinum Data Solutions, a QC technology company.
The move impacts more than 950 lenders, who will now have appraisal QC built into their main platform.
In an interview with HousingWire, Will Clemens, CEO of Mercury Network, and Phil Huff, CEO of Platinum Data, explained that this change fits perfectly into both of the companies thanks to the positive partnership they had already built.
“The thinking behind the combo is actually really simple,” Clemens said. “Mercury’s goal is to be the most widely used platform across the country.”
Mercury Network wants to continue that goal and grow the number of products and servicers, Clemens said.
“By being part of the same company, we can make that technology integration really tight and make this really easy for customers,” said Clemens.
However, both Clemens and Huff, emphasized that the acquisition does not mean an exclusive relationship between the two, meaning all of Platinum Data Solutions’ clients don't have to use Mercury Network and all of Mercury Network’s clients don't have to use Platinum Data Solutions.
“This is one of those ideal situations where 1+1=3. We will maintain the open platform approach that both our platforms have been built on. It’s our bedrock,” said Huff.
Mercury Network, which is based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Platinum Data Solutions, which is based in Orange County, California, will both keep running operations as normal in their respective offices, with no planned layoffs.
For now, Huff said he will continue to run Platinum to help oversee the transition but will leave shortly thereafter.
The terms of the acquisitions were not disclosed, and it was finalized on Aug. 24.
Back in May 2015, Serent Capital announced it acquired Mercury Network. Prior to the acquisition, Mercury Network was a subsidiary of a la mode, a technology leader in the financial services industry.
