Ribbon closes Series B funding round with $30M, $300M in debt to expand

Company brings speed, transparency, and certainty to the home buying process, enabling consumers and real estate agents to buy and sell homes more easily and efficiently

Ribbon announced it has raised $330 million in equity and debt financing, to facilitate the company's expansion into new markets, and accelerate product development efforts. The company, which helps consumers more easily and efficiently buy homes, closed a $30 million Series B round of funding led by Greylock, and secured a debt facility with Goldman Sachs that, in addition to a previous facility, provides current financing capacity to $300 million upon closing and may be increased by an additional $220 million, in each case, upon the satisfaction of certain conditions. All previous investors, including Bain Capital Ventures, NFX and NYCA also participated in the Series B round, as did new investor Thomvest Ventures.

Ribbon dramatically simplifies the home buying process by enabling home buyers with an all-cash, guaranteed-to-close "Ribbon Offer" to present to home sellers. Buyers are pre-approved for a purchase and home valuations are completed within 24 hours, making the offer experience fast, transparent and predictable.  If a home buyer can't close with a mortgage on time, Ribbon will buy and reserve the home on behalf of the home buyer and lease it to them for up to six months. Sellers and agents also benefit from the process, which ensures a guaranteed, stress-free experience.  To-date, home buyers working with Ribbon have increased their chance of having their offer accepted by an estimated 10 times, saved an average of $10,000 in cash discounts and received a 100% on-time closing.

"Home buyers, home sellers, real estate agents and lenders are all enthusiastically working with Ribbon to streamline the real estate transaction and deliver a frictionless buying and selling experience. We're grateful for the confidence our investors have shown in our business model with this round of funding, and excited about the opportunity to bring our products and services into new markets and design new product solutions. We are expanding our platform to help even more families who have homes to buy and sell and families who are buying their first home."

— Ribbon CEO Shaival Shah

"Buying a home – especially when you want to sell a current home and level up – can be a frustrating and stressful experience. By bringing technology to the homebuying experience, Ribbon makes it much easier for all parties involved," said Josh McFarland, Partner at Greylock. "Since leading the seed round, the Ribbon team hasn't slowed down when it comes to innovating, and Greylock is thrilled to continue our support as the company builds new, transformative technology for the real estate industry and expands into more markets."

Ribbon currently operates in eight markets across four states - Charlotte, Raleigh, Nashville, Atlanta, Charleston, Greenville, Memphis and Knoxville – and plans to expand its coverage to 20 markets across ten states by the end of 2020. The company, which has increased its employee count to 60 full-time staff, has experienced explosive growth.  The company has grown 10 times over the last 12 months and has increased demand to an annual rate of $1 billion in consumer buying power and registered real estate agents on the Ribbon Platform that represent $12 billion in transaction volume.

"Since our initial investment two years ago, the Ribbon team - which is stacked with talent and industry expertise - has built a solution that removes uncertainty from the transaction, making it easier for buyers, sellers, and agents," said Pete Flint, Managing Partner, NFX and Founder, Trulia. "Ribbon is proving that superior technology and data plus capital is what it will take to truly transform the real estate industry. As Ribbon continues to expand across the US, buyers and sellers are the real winners."

Ribbon has released several new product offerings to deliver an even more seamless home buying experience for all parties involved, including tools for new home construction companies, home buyers using Conventional, FHA and VA insured loans, real estate agents and lenders.

"The real estate market is rapidly evolving as consumer demand drives innovative solutions forward," said Matt Harris, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures. "We continue to believe that the Ribbon team has the passion, commitment and experience to make a tremendous impact on how people buy and sell homes. By bringing greater fairness and efficiency to the market, they are making home ownership achievable for a broader span of the population."

SOURCE Ribbon

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