In an attempt to accelerate their growth in the lucrative US real estate market, property tech company Openn Negotiation (ASX: OPN) has entered into an equity partnership with leading US listings company Triangle MLS to access their 16,000 realtor members.
The agreement is centred around 1 million unlisted Options in Openn whereby Triangle can purchase discounted OPN shares if the collaboration kicks off and a binding agreement is signed between the two for commercial use of the Openn Platform by Triangle.
Based in North Carolina, Triangle is the largest Multiple Listings Service (LMS) operator in the State where they have 16,000 registered real estate professionals that list properties on the platform. Between then, more than 47,000 properties were sold in 2021 and this collaboration will see the Openn Negotiation service offered on the platform to any member that wishes to list their property using Openn’s bidding platform.
Unlike traditional property auctions that take place on-site and are generally concluded within 15 minutes, the Openn system allows properties to be listed online with a live auction that can run for several weeks. By using the system, prospective buyers can see what the current highest bid is, and when the auction will end. Rather than having a countless round of final calls – the highest bidder at the designated close time simply wins and binding contracts are then generated digitally.
“Triangle MLS helped more than 47,000 buyers find a home last year. Every transaction involved a TMLS member delivering at least one offer to a seller,” said Triangle President, Matt Fowler.
“Managing those offers, especially when many come in at once, involves a myriad of details and can be difficult to sort out. Openn promises to bring a durable process to the management of those offers in a way that increases fairness and transparency.”
The Subscription Agreement for the 1 million unlisted Options is contingent on a commercial deal being signed between Openn and Triangle.
Should they be exercised within 9 months of issue, the strike price is $0.35. If exercised within 9-18 months of issue, it is $0.50 and if 18-24 months $0.65.
The Options expire 24 months from issue but cannot be exercised unless a 3-year deal is reached between the two. 50% of any exercised Options converted to shares would then be held in voluntary escrow for 3 years.
This Subscription Agreement is part of Openn’s strategy to accelerate growth in the US market where it allows them to access their addressable market without additional operating expenses in the form of a standalone sales team.
Each year, there are an estimated 6.4 million properties sold in the United States each year. Targeting MLS service providers is one way to quickly introduce the Openn platform to real estate agents around the country as an alternative selling method where there are 531 individual LMS providers that specialise in their own geographic region.
The top 20 MLS’s each have between 10,000 – 100,000 agents with California Regional MLS deemed by Openn as the big kahuna, touting just over 100k agents listing properties.
For the half year ended 31 December 2021, Openn reported $656k in revenue which was a 28% increase on the previous year as the Company actively engages in its North America growth initiatives.
Alfred Chan is a Business Reporter at The Sentiment specialising in ASX-listed small cap companies, a bloodstock enthusiast and former equities analyst.
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