Shift closes purchase of Fair’s technology, expects to pilot dealer-listings marketplace in Q2
Shift Technologies has closed its purchase of Fair’s dealer listing marketplace technology, the company said Thursday afternoon.
As part of the deal first announced in March, Shift acquires certain assets of Fair Financial Corp. and certain subsidies, and acquires equity interests of a Fair subsidiary.
And as part of the closing, Shift has also closed its issuance of senior unsecured notes to an affiliate of SoftBank Group Corp.
Shift has planned to use the acquisition to launch its own dealer-listings marketplace, and said in Thursday’s release that a pilot of that platform is expected in the second quarter.
“We look forward to welcoming new members to our team and building out the marketplace, accelerating our vision of becoming the destination marketplace for car ownership,” Shift co-founder and chief executive officer George Arison said in the release.
“As we worked toward the close, we’ve continued to ensure that this acquisition will be cash-neutral for Shift,” Arison said. “I want to congratulate the Shift and Fair teams for their effective execution on the close.”
Shift president Jeff Clementz added: “As the supply of used cars remains highly competitive, offering consumers a wide range of options is more important than ever. The dealer marketplace allows us to expand our inventory assortment, while leveraging the investments we’ve already made in our technology and brand.”
As detailed when the transaction was announced in March, Shift agreed to acquire Fair’s dealer listing marketplace technology and team for $15 million in cash and 2.5% equity, a deal fully funded by a $20 million debt facility from SoftBank Group.