HomeServe Enters Into Home Expert Business in US Wth Acquisition of eLocal

HomeServe PLC (LON:HSV), the international home repairs and improvements business, and parent of Norwalk, CT based HomeServe USA Corp., announced as part of its mid-year results that it will acquire a majority stake in Conshohocken, PA based eLocal USA LLC (www.elocal.com), one of the leading performance-based advertising platforms in the US. The acquisition will be the foundation for HomeServe’s Home Expert business in the United States.

Established in 2008, eLocal currently offers a performance-based advertising solution in over 75 consumer facing verticals with a heavy emphasis within home services. By utilizing cutting edge technology and a robust network of publishers, eLocal reaches ready-to-buy consumers and intelligently routes over 3M calls and leads per year to its network of over 11.5K local, regional and national service providers. The acquisition of eLocal provides HomeServe with an exceptional launching pad for its Home Experts business in the United States. This business model has already proven successful in the UK with HomeServe’s acquisition of Checkatrade and in Spain with Habitissimo.

“We are delighted to have agreed to buy a majority shareholding in eLocal,” said Richard Harpin, Chief Executive and Founder of HomeServe PLC. “Bruce Aronow and team have created a really successful business model with great growth potential. I am looking forward to working with them as we continue to grow our Home Experts business.”

“The entire eLocal team is extremely excited to have been chosen as the platform to build the Home Experts business in the U.S.,” said eLocal CEO Bruce Aronow. “Partnering with a global leader like HomeServe will provide us the ability to leverage our talented team and best in class technology to deliver a great product to both consumers and advertisers in the U.S.”

eLocal has grown by profitably scaling their lead generation model and by tactically adding acquisitions with the support of their private equity backers, LLR Partners. eLocal’s founders, Andrew and Bruce Aronow, will remain with the company to run and grow the business. eLocal currently employs a staff of approximately 130 across its three office locations in Conshohocken, New York and Los Angeles.

The Home Experts business through eLocal’s platform will be run separately from HomeServe’s core Membership and HVAC businesses in the U.S., which serves over 4.2 million customers directly and through partnerships with more than 750 municipal, utility and association entities.

Source : HomeServe

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