Lightbox Acquisition Gives Real Capital Markets Tech Boost

Technology and data company Lightbox has acquired Real Capital Markets. The acquisition will give the company and instant boost to its data and technology platform. The acquisition also includes Digital Map Products, a location intelligence and mapping platform. C-III Capital Partners formerly backed RCM and Silversmith Capital Partners formerly backed DMP. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“We are super excited about Lightbox. There are several short-term ways the acquisition will positively impact our clients,” Tina Lichens, COO of Real Capital Markets, tells GlobeSt.com. “The first is taking a close look at the technology and data we can leverage across the entire Lightbox organization that is currently comprised of three leading brands that have been providing technology and data in the CRE industry for decades.”

The acquisition gives RCM access to DMP’s products as well. RCM intends to leverage those data tools to provide better insights to customers. “We can offer critical, property-based insights to RCM clients through DMP’s map-based real estate tools and location technology,” says Lichens. “DMP is the leading provider of cloud-based location intelligence solutions with over 144 million parcels and data on flood zones, POIs, and numerous map layers such as opportunity zones.”

RCM also plans to leverage the new data platform to develop its debt and capital markets platforms, according to Lichens, and make access to information more efficient for clients. “We plan to further enhance lender and debt capital markets’ workflows by leveraging due diligence documents along with environmental data within the RCM Virtual Deal Room,” she says. “This will provide a centralized location to host and share due diligence documents utilized by various parties throughout the disposition process, from marketing a listing with RCM to securing a loan using the EDR platform. EDR supports over 300,000 loan transactions and over 200,000 Environmental Site Assessment assignments annually.”

The Lightbox acquisition is exemplary of increased technology integration in the commercial real estate market. According to Lichens, the two firms were also a good cultural fit. “Lightbox is a company that was formed to create an integrated set of solutions that provide real estate professionals with greater transparency, efficiency and insight at every decision point,” she says. “It brings together companies that have deep relationships with their clients built over decades. Lightbox believes that the real estate decision-making process can be exponentially improved with the right intelligence, workflow software, industry data and analytics. The ultimate goal of the organization remains empowering the customer.”