Rock Holdings, the parent company of Quicken Loans, announced Friday that it is expanding its portfolio with the acquisition of LowerMyBills.com and ClassesUSA.com from Core Digital Media.
The acquisition will grow the portfolio of Rock Holdings, which includes Quicken Loans, as well as One Reverse Mortgage; Title Source, a provider of title insurance and settlement services; Quicken Loans Mortgage Services, a mortgage origination platform servicing community banks and credit unions; In-House Realty, a digital platform matching consumers with real estate agents; RocketLoans, the “fastest online personal loan platform in America;” and Rock Connections, a strategic marketing company.
Now, the company is adding to its portfolio with the acquisition of LowerMyBills.com, aka LowerMyBills.
The acquisition of LowerMyBills.com is an interesting one, considering that the site is a financial services comparison site, which allows consumers to shop around for various financial products, including mortgages.
The homepage of LowerMyBills.com offers visitors the chance to comparison-shop for a purchase mortgage, a refinance, and a reverse mortgage, as well as auto insurance, life insurance, personal loans, auto loans, and solar energy providers as well.
If a consumer wants to shop around for a mortgage on LowerMyBills.com, they simply need to enter a few pieces of pertinent information (loan size, estimated credit score, etc.) and then they get “up to 5 free loan offers from our network lenders.”
While that’s what consumers see, what the site really is a lead generation tool for lenders and other service providers. In fact, the press release Rock Holdings lists the two websites as “two of the nation’s leading online marketing service providers.”
ClassesUSA.com, aka Classes USA, is a similar comparison site, but for online colleges instead.
Another interesting facet of this deal is that Quicken Loans is already listed as a “featured provider” on the main search page for mortgages.
So, for Quicken Loans, the acquisition of LowerMyBills.com will likely serve as another avenue for acquiring new customers.
Rock Holdings also said that the current leadership of LowerMyBills.com and ClassesUSA.com “will remain with the companies and run the day-to-day operations from their Los Angeles headquarters, which will also remain open.”
Steve Krenzer, the chief executive officer of Core Digital Media, said that the acquisitions will allow the websites to grow.
“This is an exciting new chapter for LowerMyBills and ClassesUSA,” Krenzer said. “We look forward to an exciting future for both our clients and team members. Rock Holdings will bring fresh capital, enthusiasm and a vast amount of technology and online experience that will allow us to grow to new heights.”
For Rock Holdings, the acquisitions of LowerMyBills and ClassesUSA come shortly after its In-House Realty, announced that it plans to acquire the Toronto-based technology group and its proprietary technology platform from OpenHouse Realty, a Santa Monica, California-based residential real estate company.
That deal will allow In-House Realty to combine all of the elements of the home buying process into one platform.
And now Rock Holdings is acquiring LowerMyBills and ClassesUSA as well.
Graham Skidmore, vice president of Rock Holdings, said the company plans to grow its new acquisitions.
“We are passionate about online technology, and its importance in the finance and education spaces,” Skidmore said. “LowerMyBills and ClassesUSA play a meaningful role in helping consumers find the best online solutions for their goals. Through these acquisitions, and the planned capital investments, we are confident these businesses will continue to grow and meet the evolving needs of their customers.”
Financial terms of the LowerMyBills and ClassesUSA acquisition were not disclosed. Rock Holdings said that the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2017.
