NEWS DIGEST

THE DIGEST

A ROUNDUP OF RECENT NEWS

NCINO TO BUY SIMPLENEXUS IN $1.2B DEAL

Wilmington-based cloud banking software firm nCino Inc. plans to buy a digital mortgage platform in a transaction valued at $1.2 billion, the companies announced in November. nCino (Nasdaq: NCNO) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire SimpleNexus for about $240 million in cash and 13.2 million shares of nCino common stock.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of nCino’s fourth fiscal quarter, Jan. 31, and is subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

“When we first started nCino, our mission was clear: to transform the financial services industry through innovation, reputation and speed. Today, we take another major step forward in executing on that mission by welcoming the talented team at SimpleNexus and their best-inclass, cloud-based homeownership platform into the nCino family,” said nCino CEO Pierre Naudé (above). SimpleNexus serves more than 300 independent mortgage banks (IMBs), over 80 banks and credit unions and more than 41,000 loan originators nationwide. During the first nine months of 2021, more than 1 in every 7 mortgage originations in the U.S. leveraged SimpleNexus’ software.

“The acquisition of SimpleNexus initially expands nCino’s serviceable addressable market by over $4 billion and furthers its competitive position as the single digital banking platform of choice,” according to a news release.

While nCino’s portfolio of software products – all part of its basic Bank Operating System – has grown to include both lending and deposit functions for financial institutions of all sizes, this purchase gives nCino access to a new market: the various participants in retail mortgage lending.

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RENDERING C/O ROMERO ARCHITECTURE

PROPOSAL SAVES OLD BAILEY THEATER FACADE

The owner of a landmark property in downtown Wilmington wants to incorporate its historical remnants into a new two-story commercial building.

Stamatia “Nick” Saffo of Global Property Holdings and Saffo Contractors said that he’s restarted efforts to redevelop the former Bailey Theater property, 20 N. Front St., that his company bought in 2017.

The theater was built in 1942 and demolished in the 1980s, except for the facade. In recent years, the art moderne facade was also in danger of being demolished. But in the latest plan, the facade would be incorporated into a building with three retail spaces, a restaurant space and a potential rooftop use, such as a bar, gym or coffee shop, said Saffo, who is Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo’s brother. Nick Saffo said his brother is not involved in the project.

The Bailey proposal also includes installing a simulated Bailey movie theater marquee like the one that graced the theater in its heyday.

$160

million

COST OF CSX’S NEW CAROLINA CONNECTOR THAT WILMINGTON’S PORT CONNECTS TO BY RAIL