Place, a real estate and financial services technology unicorn, announced an agreement to acquire Ardley, an AI-powered automated recapture and retention software for mortgage companies and banks that sends pre-structured loan offers to their customers. The acquisition marks another significant step in Place’s strategy to build a connected operating system for the mortgage industry.
The mortgage industry has historically operated through a multitude of fragmented systems across borrower acquisition, origination, fulfillment, servicing, portfolio intelligence, retention and transaction services. With the acquisition of Ardley, Place is bringing those capabilities together by combining technology, data, AI and services in one connected platform to help lenders and financial institutions operate more efficiently and build deeper, longer-lasting relationships with consumers.
Ardley joins recent complementary acquisitions Maxwell, Remine, Envoy Mortgage and the multiple divisions acquired from Radian Group, to power an integrated platform designed to help lenders identify opportunities, engage borrowers, originate and fulfill loans and retain customers across the homeownership lifecycle.
“We believe the future is a connected operating system where data, intelligence, technology and services work together across the entire mortgage lifecycle,” said Ben Kinney, co-founder and CEO of Place.
Ardley’s mortgage technology platform helps servicers and lenders turn their existing loan portfolios into new originations. Ardley’s technology is focused on keeping these customers in lenders’ portfolios, while generating new and additional opportunities like second mortgages, or lines of credit.
The acquisition also builds on an existing relationship between Ardley and Maxwell. The companies announced an integration earlier this year that pairs Ardley’s portfolio intelligence and precision targeting capabilities with Maxwell’s point-of-sale technology to create a more connected experience.
Together with Ardley, Place can connect intelligence about an institution’s existing customers and loan portfolio directly to the technology and services used to originate and fulfill their next transaction.
“Ardley was built to help lenders understand their portfolios and identify the right opportunity for the right borrower at the right time,” said Nathan Den Herder, founder and CEO of Ardley. “The ecosystem PLACE is assembling creates an enormous opportunity for our customers and the industry, combining intelligence with the scale, technology and capabilities.”
Ardley will continue serving its existing customers and partners, with the added resources, capabilities and reach of the Place ecosystem.
