Approval from Shareholder Boards is Next Step to Form One MLS for Denver and Northern Colorado
IRES and REcolorado have taken another step toward creating a single MLS that will serve 26,000 real estate professionals in northern Colorado and the greater Denver Metro Area.
Lauren Hansen, CEO of IRES, and Kirby Slunaker, president and CEO of REcolorado, today announced the commitment between the two MLSs has now gone from a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU), as announced in September, to a binding merger agreement. The merger agreement has been signed by Hansen and Slunaker and has received approval from both the REcolorado Board of Directors and the IRES Board of Managers.
The next step needed is shareholder approval from the boards of the eight REALTOR Associations that are the owners of the two organizations.
REcolorado’s shareholders are Denver Metro Association of REALTORS, South Metro Denver REALTOR Association, and Aurora Association of REALTORS®. Shareholders of IRES are Boulder Area REALTOR® Association, Fort Collins Board of REALTORS®, Greeley Area REALTOR® Association, Longmont Association of REALTORS®, and Loveland Berthoud Association of REALTORS®. The shareholders are expected to review and vote on the merger agreement in the coming weeks.
“Thanks to the great work of the REcolorado and IRES shareholders and their boards, our vision of creating a future-focused MLS that serves REALTORS, Brokers and consumers along the Colorado Front Range is becoming a reality,” said Kirby Slunaker. “Colorado real estate professionals have told us they want the benefits that can only come from one MLS, which include the best products and services, faster pace of innovation, and world-class customer care.”
A merged MLS organization serving the Colorado Front Range would bring substantial benefits to Colorado real estate professionals, which would be passed on to consumers. Benefits include comprehensive data, a broad set of technology tools and services, and powerful consumer-facing websites.
“REALTORS, brokers, appraisers, and consumers deserve the most comprehensive,
accurate, and timely data possible, as well as technology tools they can use to serve the needs of well-informed buyers and sellers,” said Lauren Hansen. “Bringing our MLS organizations together is what brokers want and what the market needs.” Chris Osborn, with Foster, Pepper PLLC, will continue to facilitate the merger process with REcolorado and IRES.
“We continue to move at a steady pace, thanks to open lines of communication between REcolorado and IRES, as well as a shared commitment to work in the best interest of REALTORS and Brokers,” said Chris Osborn. “I’m optimistic the merger agreement will receive shareholder approval, giving us the green light to consolidate these two companies. With approval from REcolorado’s three shareholder boards, as well as the IRES shareholder boards, the merger could close before the end of the year.”
With shareholder approval, the process of integrating the two MLS organizations, including the products and services, as well as all listing data, would begin shortly thereafter.
