The real estate brokerage, eXp World Holdings, Inc. (EXP), recently announced the completion of its acquisition of SUCCESS Enterprises. SUCCESS is a U.S.-based business magazine that was established by inspirational author Orison S. Marden in 1897. Marden primarily wrote articles for his magazine that focused on self-culture, personal development, and common-sense principles of success. Other articles featured personal interviews of highly successful men and women, such as the leading industrialists John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie, and the poet Julia Ward Howe. In the 123 years since its founding, SUCCESS magazine has become one of the leading publications in the U.S. covering personal and professional development.  Meanwhile, its mission has remained the same. SUCCESS strives to motivate its readers to improve their mind and body so they are in the best possible mental and physical shape to compete and reach their goals by offering advice on best business practices and providing inspiration from major personalities in business and entertainment. In addition to SUCCESS magazine, EXPI acquired the brand’s related media properties, which include SUCCESS newsletters, podcasts, digital training courses, social media accounts, and the highly coveted SUCCESS.com domain.

EXP is one of the fastest growing real estate tech companies, with more than 39,000 agents worldwide. The cloud-based brokerage focuses on the development and use of technologies to fuel its international expansion without the need for physical brick and mortar offices or the burden of staffing costs. EXP is publicly traded and offers agents equity awards for meeting production goals and contributing to overall company growth.  The brokerage is powered by a 3D platform that is designed to increase productivity by allowing agents to be more social and collaborative.

It is not very often that you hear about M&A deals between firms in the real estate industry and firms in the personal development industry. However, there seems to be a great deal of synergy between EXP and SUCCESS. EXP plans to blend its 3D technologies with SUCCESS’s content to develop an on-demand platform of immersive personal development content. Glenn Sanford, CEO, Chairman and Founder of EXP, said “by combining eXp’s cutting-edge technology and passion for education with SUCCESS’s established platform, we are well-positioned to take personal development to the next level. The acquisition fortifies our business model of providing a better value proposition for agents, while expanding our reach. Together, SUCCESS and eXp will inspire agents and entrepreneurs to be the best version of themselves.” Josh Ellis, editor-in-chief of SUCCESS magazine, also spoke optimistically about the deal, saying “creating an ecosystem of media channels and content enhanced with immersive technology will make personal development more accessible and impactful.”