ServiceLink, the provider of transaction services to the mortgage and finance industries, is getting into the auction business thanks to its parent company buying one of the country’s top auction companies.
On Monday, Fidelity National Financial, the title insurance giant and parent company of ServiceLink, announced that it acquired Hudson & Marshall, a full-service auction company that has been in business since 1965.
According to a release from Fidelity, the company expects to partner with Hudson & Marshall to “further enhance the services Fidelity can provide to its strong lender, servicer and real estate agent relationships.”
Additionally, H&M will power ServiceLink Auction, a new auction offering from ServiceLink.
Here’s now Fidelity describes the new offering:
ServiceLink Auction will provide a results-driven, full service auction platform providing foreclosure and REO auction services that are fully integrated with ServiceLink products and technologies. It will be complemented by ServiceLink’s end-to-end default services and managed through ServiceLink’s Default Services division.
“With ServiceLink Auction, we are providing a service for our customers who have been looking for auction alternatives,” Chris Azur, CEO of ServiceLink, said in a separate release. “This service complements our default offerings and allows us to be the single service provider that the industry can count on to provide timely liquidity and optimal market value in the disposition of assets.”
Azur added that the company is “committed to consistently meeting the needs” of the housing industry.
“In partnership with Hudson and Marshall’s long-history of auction leadership and innovative technology platforms, we are certain that ServiceLink Auction will become the go-to resource for servicers,” Azur continued.
The deal is the second big one for Hudson & Marshall in the last few years.
In 2015, Hudson & Marshall merged with Genesis Auctions, the Internet-based distressed residential real estate disposition platform.
Of this latest deal, Hudson & Marshall CEO Trixy Castro, who was the founder and CEO of Genesis Auctions and took over at Hudson & Marshall after the 2015 merger, said that the company is excited about its next phase.
“The partnership with ServiceLink provides an even greater reach for Hudson & Marshall’s innovative disposition offerings,” Castro said. “It’s a great match and we are excited about the impact we can make together on the real estate industry.”
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In a statement, FNF Chairman William Foley said that the deal will allow the company to provide additional services to its clients.
“We continue to seek ways to provide more value-added services to our lender, servicer and real estate agent customers and H&M's auction capabilities can help us do that,” Foley said of the deal. “Additionally, H&M and ServiceLink can partner to provide a fully integrated auction platform for our default services client base.”
