US-based Handy Technologies is to be sold to Angi Homeservices for an undisclosed sum.
Handy, which was cofounded by Irishman Oisín Hanrahan, will further Angi’s reach in the market. Angi has typically focused on repairs and renovations. Handy, meanwhile, matches independent professionals with people looking for household services.
New York-based Handy was set up in 2012 as Handybook by Mr Hanrahan and Umang Dua, with Weina Scott and Ignacio Leonhardt making up the remainder of the founding team. The company has signed deals with several retailers in the US, including Walmart and Wayfair, that sees Handy's services sold at the point of sale.
"Our customers want to book and instantly buy all kinds of household services from us, and with Handy we can seamlessly deliver on more requests, faster," said Chris Terrill, chief executive of Angi Homeservices. "Handy gives us a strong foothold in the gig economy space with an innovative product and infrastructure to power retailers' in-home services offerings – this is a significant driver of the growth of the home services category and our acceleration within it."
The deal with Angi has been in works for a couple of months.
“We really understood what they were trying to build, and saw so much overlap and how it would be complementary for us to partner up with them,” said Mr Hanrahan. “I think they were very excited about the transactional technology platform that we built.”
Handy’s team will stay on with the company following the acquisition, and Mr Hanrahan and his cofounder have committed to staying at the company for a three-year period. The approach from Angi was “the right time, right people, right opportunity”, he said.
“When we started six years ago we didn’t really think about what this part of the business would look like, we didn’t really think about what would happen in terms of liquidity ” Mr Hanrahan said. “It never really came to us as this is the obvious way. It doesn’t feel like the end.”
Mr Hanrahan said the company is continuing to grow; the 90-strong team is still recruiting and the company will continue to work on developing its partnerships.
“I don’t think we’re viewing this as an exit at this point,” he said. “It’s just another lap around the track, or another part of the journey for us.”
