Xceligent Buys Commercial Information Exchange to Take on CoStar

Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff Report Xceligent Inc. has acquired a commercial real estate listing service to take on its rival and expand nationally. The company, which provides data on commercial space that's available for sale or lease, acquired ePropertyData from Second Century Ventures, the strategic investment arm of the National Association of Realtors. As part of the deal, Xceligent will be the exclusive provider of commercial real estate information services to the NAR. EPropertyData provides listings of properties that appraisers, brokers, developers and local title companies input. The listing service, which boasts nearly 5,000 members across the country, also provides a basic research platform.  "This acquisition will help us with our expansion and add to our national footprint," said Steig Seaward, Xceligent national director of client services. "We will be expanding into the top 65 markets within the next three years, and then we should be in the top 100 markets in about four years." Xceligent, of Independence, Mo., already operates in 33 markets and is looking to expand nationally to take on rival CoStar Group of Washington, D.C. Seaward said ePropertyData's listings provide a little less detail than Xceligent's existing platform at a lower cost to its users. "It's a member-loaded exchange," Seaward said. He said the service provides property listing information, demographics, sale and lease information, analytics and research tools. He declined to disclose the purchase price for ePropertyData. Allen Benson, founder of ePropertyData, said his company's development capabilities are a "perfect match" for Xceligent's research capabilities and industry presence. Xceligent bought ePropertyData less than a month after the Federal Trade Commission approved a consent order that cleared the way for CoStar to complete its $860 million purchase of LoopNet. FTC gave its approval only after Xceligent teamed up with DMG Information Inc., a business-to-business information provider, to buy the company back from LoopNet. Without that transaction, CoStar, in the eyes of regulators, would have achieved near monopoly status for certain commercial real estate information. "The focus of the new entity is going to use resources of DMG to develop a national robust platform that serves all markets," said Constance Freedman, Second Century Ventures managing director. EPropertyData has "traditionally" served secondary and tertiary markets, she added. Freedman said the "market is calling for a competitor" to CoStar. Xceligent's acquisition and its partnership with NAR will provide a strong presence in the market place, she says.

  

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