Cowgills corporate finance team has advised Manchester’s KnownOrigin on the acquisition of its business by global retail giant eBay.

Cowgills corporate finance team has advised Manchester’s KnownOrigin on the acquisition of its business by global retail giant eBay.

The firm’s technology and platform provides artists with a place to create digital collectibles in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs)

KnownOrigin, which was founded just five years ago, enables artists and collectors to create, buy and resell NFTs via blockchain-support transactions.

Commenting on the sale of the business to eBay Cowgills corporate finance partner Sam Davies said: “This is a superb deal for KnownOrigin and we are proud to have acted for them on this sale. To attract a global business like eBay within five years of launch shows just how impressive the business is and how strong the market is in this emerging sector. We’ve supported many of the region’s tech businesses in recent years and we anticipate a significant volume of deal activity coming forward in Web3 and the Digital Asset Ecosystem.”

Since it was founded in 2018, KnownOrigin has enjoyed significant and rapid growth as it has pioneered the way people create, buy, and sell NFTs. Co-founder David Moore, said: “We founded KnownOrigin to empower creators and collectors by giving them the ability to showcase, sell, and collect unique, authenticated digital items.

“As interest in NFTs continues to grow, we believe now is the perfect time for us to partner with a company that has the reach and experience of eBay. With more than 25 years building similar communities of passionate individuals, we are excited by the opportunity to bring a whole new audience on this journey.

“This is the start of a new chapter in the KnownOrigin story and we couldn’t choose a better time to focus on building and innovating with the team at eBay. This partnership will help us attract a new wave of NFT creators and collectors.”

eBay’s tech-led reimagination has resulted in major upgrades to the company’s technology, performance and customer experience, including tools that make it easier than ever to discover, buy or sell anything. As a part of this, eBay began allowing the buying and selling of NFTs in May 2021.

“eBay is the first stop for people across the globe who are searching for that perfect, hard-to-find, or unique addition to their collection and, with this acquisition, we will remain a leading site as our community is increasingly adding digital collectibles,” said Jamie Iannone, chief executive of eBay.

“KnownOrigin has built up an impressive, passionate and loyal group of artists and collectors making them a perfect addition to our community of sellers and buyers. We look forward to welcoming these innovators as they join the eBay community.”

Bermans specialist technology team provided KnownOrigin with legal advice.