A cross-border Goodwin Proptech and M&A team advised HqO, the end-to-end tenant experience platform for commercial real estate properties, on its acquisition of Office App, a leading European tenant and employee engagement platform. The new combined entity is valued at over half a billion dollars, making it one of the most significant proptech companies in the world. This valuation reflects the growing importance of workplace experience solutions in the commercial real estate market. Goodwin has been counsel to HqO since its inception and also served as counsel to company co-founder and CEO Chase Garbarino in his prior venture, AmericanInno, and serves as counsel to Chase’s father John Garbarino in his role as a partner at Webster Equity Partners.
The acquisition brings together solutions for building owners and corporate workplaces, opening up a new market in the tenant experience space. It reinforces HqO's leadership in the tenant experience category and positions it as the dominant global provider of workplace solutions for commercial real estate owners, property teams, and tenant companies. Furthermore, the Office App acquisition will help HqO increase its European footprint and accelerate product development to better support its customers, as Office App is currently active in 20 million square feet across over 100 offices in 24 countries.
“Office App has done a tremendous job of building out a robust ecosystem of solutions tailored to the needs of European landlords and corporate occupiers,” said Chase Garbarino. “To that end, we are thrilled to be able to provide our customers a more complete offering with more consultation, higher user engagement rates, and more data.”
The Goodwin team was led by Shoaib Ghias, John LeClaire, Scott Carson (U.S. Corporate); Saya Sharma, Janet Andolina (U.S. Tax); Dulcie Daly, Crescent Moran Chasteen (ERISA and Executive Compensation); and Hayley Davis and Joseph Ndep (Tech).
Goodwin’s groundbreaking Proptech practice — led by Real Estate Industry practice chair Minta Kay and Technology practice partner John Mutkoski — is the first of its kind among leading global law firms. The group advises innovators and investors in the growing proptech space.
The global, multidisciplinary team advises HqO on a range of matters spanning intellectual property, privacy, employment, and financing transactions, among other areas, bringing together the firm’s combined prominence and expertise in the technology, real estate, M&A, growth company, and cross-border work areas.
For more details on HqO’s acquisition, read the company’s press release.