SmartRent Inc. CEO Lucas Haldeman says property technology is a small industry.
How small?
More than 20 years before Scottsdale, Arizona-based SmartRent acquired Orlando-based SightPlan Inc., Haldeman met future SightPlan CEO Terry Danner when the two were at different companies. They worked together on another project in 2007, and Haldeman met SightPlan co-founder and President Joseph Westlake at industry conference Optech 2017 in Las Vegas.
“We saw right away our perspectives in our industry, the opportunity and the way technology could transform real estate were perfectly aligned,” Westlake told Orlando Inno. “We stayed in contact after that, and we began working together with our mutual customers.”
After a few years of SmartRent (NYSE: SMRT) and SightPlan working together, the two firms began talking about joining forces. That long history between SmartRent and SightPlan leadership culminated in the March 24 announcement that SmartRent bought SightPlan for $135 million in an all-cash deal.
“It can be kind of lonely as an innovator,” Haldeman told Orlando Inno. “I don’t want to talk to people every three months at a conference. I want to talk to them every day.”
The transaction joins SightPlan, which offers management software for multifamily property owners, with SmartRent, which develops automation software and hardware for homebuilders, property managers and residents. SightPlan’s customer subscriptions are expected to add about $10 million to SmartRent’s SaaS revenue for 2022.
Plus, both teams recognize technical redundancies that can be eliminated, Haldeman said. “We can free up engineering resources who can work on new products.”
Software Equity Group served as the exclusive adviser to SightPlan on the transaction. Phoenix-based Snell & Welmer was outside counsel for SmartRent, and Atlanta-based Morris, Manning & Martin was outside counsel for SightPlan.
Following the transaction, SightPlan’s team of nearly 100 workers will join SmartRent as employees, but SightPlan will continue to run its operations from its Orlando office. In fact, it’ll continue to hire, with eight open positions listed on the firm’s website.
The SightPlan purchase is SmartRent’s second Central Florida acquisition this year. SmartRent in January bought Orlando-based smart apartment tech firm iQuue LLC. iQuue employees will move into SightPlan’s downtown Orlando office, Westlake said.
After the two transactions, SmartRent’s focus will be on integrating with the two new firms instead of additional acquisitions, Haldeman said. “There’s a history in this industry of companies acquiring small tech companies and forgetting to do the integration. We’re making sure we’re a visible counter to that.”
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