Just a few weeks ago, it looked like CrediFi, a commercial real estate data and analytics provider that had raised nearly $30 million in funding over the last five years, was mere days from shutting down.
Now, it looks like the company has been saved from the chopping block, at least in some form, by one of its competitors no less.
Actovia, which bills itself as “New York City region’s leading provider of commercial real estate intelligence and data,” announced this week that it has purchased CrediFi as part of an effort to expand beyond the NYC area.
“The acquisition of CrediFi, which was launched in 2014, enhances Actovia’s already-powerful information-gathering capabilities and greatly broadens the geographical scope of its operations,” the company said in a release.
As CrediFi was nearing its end days, the company sent a letter sent to clients and subscribers, with CrediFi CEO Ely Razin stating that the company is shutting down its data platform “over the coming days.”
Razin’s admission came in an email to clients offering them a chance to “get great data at close-out prices,” with the email simultaneously confirming the company’s fate and offering clients one last chance to buy the company’s data offerings.
Financial terms of the deal with Actovia were not disclosed, but the deal begs the question of whether Actovia bought CrediFi’s data and its platform at “close-out prices” or not.
As for Actovia, the company views the deal as a chance to expand beyond New York City real estate.
“Actovia’s acquisition of CrediFi helps fulfill our strategy of expanding our regional offerings to a national scale,” said Actovia Founder and CEO Jonathan Ingber. “Our broadened capabilities now significantly extend the market leadership of Actovia’s analytics-enabled solution – and empower us to deliver greater value to banks and clients.”
According to Ingber, Actovia chose to merge CrediFi into its new parent company. But for now, CrediFi, which had been based in Tel Aviv, Israel, will “effectively function” as Actovia’s “sister company.”
Ingber said the deal “stands as a natural next step in quickly scaling Actovia,” adding that the deal brings together “Actovia’s strengths in the small-business and mid-market spheres with CrediFi’s strengths in serving larger enterprises.”
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