North Carolina bank technology company acquires Lehi's SimpleNexus

SimpleNexus, a developer of a cloud-based, mobile-first homeownership platform based in Lehi, has been acquired by nCino, a global bank technology firm headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina.

The acquisition was a stock and cash transaction valued at approximately $1.2 billion, including $270 million in cash and approximately 13.2 million shares of nCino common stock. The transaction is expected to close by the end of nCino’s fourth fiscal quarter ending Jan. 31.

“We are thrilled to join forces with nCino, a company that shares our passion for innovation and commitment to customer success,” said Cathleen Schreiner Gates, CEO of SimpleNexus. “I’m confident that together, we can accelerate digital transformation across the industry and better serve financial institutions and independent mortgage banks of all sizes.”

“We are excited to officially welcome the SimpleNexus team to the nCino family,” said Pierre Naudé, CEO of nCino. “The combination of nCino and SimpleNexus brings together two best-in-class, cloud-native companies focused on transforming the financial services industry by streamlining and simplifying cumbersome financial processes with innovative, market-leading technology solutions. Together, we can enhance the offerings for our customers and strengthen nCino’s position as the worldwide leader in cloud banking.”

“The acquisition furthers nCino’s commitment to transforming the financial services industry through innovation, reputation and speed,” a release from nCino said. “The SimpleNexus platform seamlessly unites the people, systems and stages of the home buying process into a single end-to-end experience, enabling loan officers, borrowers, real estate agents and settlement agents to easily engage in the homeownership process from any device. SimpleNexus’ complementary products and mobile-first offerings will unlock additional opportunities and provide greater value for new and existing customers, including enhancing nCino’s mobile and point-of-sale offerings across additional lines of business.”

The combination of SimpleNexus and nCino is generally seen in the banking industry as a boon to mortgage operations.

“The combination of nCino and SimpleNexus makes it clear that both companies understand the need for scale as well as the importance of investing in innovation. We trust the SimpleNexus leadership team, as they have always shown a commitment to their customers, and we are excited to get to know the nCino leadership team. This is a home run decision, “ said Dave Robnett, CEO of Celebrity Financial.

NCino works with more than 1,200 financial institutions globally, whose assets range in size from $30 million to more than $2 trillion. Previous acquisitions by nCino include its July 2019 purchase of Utah-based financial analytics and compliance software firm Visible Equity.

Founded in 2011, SimpleNexus serves more than 300 independent mortgage banks, over 80 banks and credit unions and more than 41,000 loan originators nationwide. In December, SimpleNexus announced its acquisition of LBA Ware, a developer of incentive compensation management and business intelligence software for the mortgage industry.