The deal will see industry vet Russ Cofano exit the company. Current COO Margo Fraker take over as chief executive of the company’s B2B efforts.
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Collabra Technology, a real estate technology and marketing company helmed by industry veteran Russ Cofano, announced Monday that it will be sold to advertising startup Adx Inc.
The companies announced the deal in a statement, saying that Adx will “acquire all Collabra assets and liabilities, marking a significant milestone for both companies and the broader AdTech industry.” In a separate note on LinkedIn, Cofano said he was happy to announce the deal.
Russ Cofano
“While there is no ‘right’ time for a company to consider a transition,” Cofano wrote, “this sale ensures that the business will have the proper funding to reach its potential, that our employees will receive economic value for their hard work, and the investors who came in during my tenure and who believed in our vision, will walk away with a positive return.”
Cofano will step down from his role as part of the deal. Margo Fraker, Collabra’s current chief operating officer, will be promoted to the business-to-business division of the company, which includes efforts focused on the real estate industry. The statement thanks Cofano for “his invaluable leadership and contributions to Collabra’s real estate digital marketing strategy.”
The companies did not publicly disclose financial details of the deal, though the statement does note that Adx is making the acquisition “with lead investor group Doxxa.” The statement also notes that Fraker will now “work closely with Adam Contos,” who is the former CEO of RE/MAX. Contos’ serves as a strategic advisor to the companies.
News of the deal comes just two months after Inman reported that mergers and acquisitions were likely to dominate 2025. Cofano was one of the expert voices Inman cited in that report.
Cofano joined Collabra as CEO in 2021. At the time, he told Inman he was drawn to the company’s vision, “smart technologists,” and goal of building a “systematized process” to help agents advertise. The role was also just the latest in a series of high-profile gigs; earlier in his career, he served as the CEO of Missouri Realtors, as a senior vice president at Realtor.com operator Move Inc., and as the president and general counsel of eXp World Holdings, among other things.
He is also known for his encyclopedic knowledge of the industry, which shows up often in Inman articles and on industry stages such as Inman Connect.
In his LinkedIn note, Cofano said that Collabra wasn’t technically a startup, though his mandate was to treat it as one. He began working to grow the firm against the backdrop of “industry headwinds,” and the team eventually debuted “SphereBuilder, a new AdTech platform that made life easy for agents who wanted quick and easy access to digital advertising channels for their listings.”
The statement describes Adx as a “Doxxa-founded startup company set to transform the advertising industry with a brilliantly simple approach: democratizing access to micro-ads for everyone.” The companies tools include “amazing AI and precision targeting,” the statement adds.
As for Cofano, his LinkedIn note states that his future plans remain up in the air.
“I think there might be a bit of unique wisdom that’s bouncing around this knoggin (certainly some gray hair on top) that I can share in some way and maybe I’ll find the right channel for that,” the note concludes. “One thing is for sure… real estate is beginning a new era and the opportunities are plentiful.”
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