Zillow (Z) revealed today that it will acquire Mortech, a mortgage technology company that offers essential software tools to the mortgage industry. The acquisition cost Zillow approximately $12 million in cash as well as 150,000 shares of restricted stock. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
Nebraska-based Mortech will speed up the development of Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, a lending marketplace offered by Zillow where borrowers can connect instantly with reputable lenders. Zillow Mortgage Marketplace currently houses more than 1 million loan requests per month.
“We are following our proven strategy of building home-related marketplaces. In the case of Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, we first innovated on behalf of consumers by creating a transparent marketplace where the borrowers’ needs come first, then we connected borrowers with lenders, and now we are investing in tools to help lenders be even more successful serving consumers,” said Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff.
It’s Zillow’s fifth acquisition in two years. Just last week, Zillow bought online and mobile collaborative shopping platform, Buyfolio.
Mortech’s president, Don Kracl stated: “We’re thrilled to join the Zillow team, which has demonstrated a deep commitment to empowering both consumers and professionals in the mortgage industry through their innovative mortgage marketplace. Becoming part of Zillow will enable us to broaden the reach of our product and deliver even better technology solutions to lenders.”
