U.K. firm buys local automotive software company

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/03/2021 (1986 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg-based Rapid RTC, which provides real-time communications between automotive dealers and customers browsing online, has been acquired by U.K. software developer Keyloop in a deal that promises to expand Rapid RTC’s reach to 16,000 dealers in more than 90 countries.

“When we first started Rapid RTC, we always had a vision of where our products could land and impact the auto industry,” said Glen Demetrioff, who founded Rapid RTC and will remain president and chief executive officer. “The most exciting part now is we’re able to move our products on a much more significant path to being adopted on a global scale.”

Rapid RTC, which began in 1996 as DMT Development Systems Group, supplies software that works with auto dealers’ websites to provide live text and video chat between customers shopping online and sales floor staff. The company rebranded as Rapid RTC — the RTC stands for real-time communications — in 2018. It employs 310 staff in offices in Winnipeg, Toronto, Dallas, London and Paris.

Rapid RTC has a current client list of 4,200 dealers and 27 automakers, from BMW to Toyota and beyond. Shoppers who have accepted a chat invitation while browsing an automaker’s or dealer’s website will most likely have been using Rapid RTC’s systems.

Its latest product, LiveDealer, allows a sales representative to switch instantly from text chat to video chat to give shoppers a virtual tour of the vehicle of interest.

“The main difference between LiveDealer and Zoom is I can switch seamlessly from text chat to video,” he said. “It lets the sales staff say, ‘Why don’t I just show you?’ and switch with the click of a button.”

Keyloop, which itself was acquired by Francisco Partners, also acquired enquiryMAX, another U.K.-based software developer. The company said in a statement it was “excited” to add Rapid RTC’s and enquiryMAX’s products to its lineup of global offerings.

Till now, Rapid RTC was held privately by Demetrioff and his wife, Sharon. Glen Demetrioff expressed no regrets in giving up ownership of a company that began in his living room.

“I’ve always felt that I wanted to be part of something bigger and really move the needle on our products globally, so I always knew that one day I’d be answering to a bigger entity,” he said.

The transaction closed Monday. Terms were not disclosed and Demetrioff declined to reveal Rapid RTC’s annual revenues.

kelly.taylor@freepress.mb.ca