eBay has acquired a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace that has partnerships with the likes of Adidas, Netflix and Adobe.
KnownOrigin, which was founded in Manchester in 2018, has been snapped up for an undisclosed sum.
The company enables artists and collectors to create, buy and resell NFTs via blockchain-support transactions.
READ MORE: NFT marketplace secures £3.5m boost
eBay chief executive Jamie Iannone said: "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.
"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."
KnownOrigin co-founder David Moore added: "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."
The deal comes after KnownOrigin completed a £3.5m funding round earlier this year.
The investment was co-led by venture capital firms GBV and Sanctor Capital and also saw participation from Cultur3 Capital, D1 Ventures, MetaCartel Ventures DAO, LD Capital, Pluto Digital and Future Arts, Colborn and Yin Cao.
Bermans corporate law team -Jon Davage, Robin Hastings, Nathan Hughes and Faizan Nayyar - with support from Bermans head of Commercial law, Stephen Green, advised KnownOrigin.
Bermans was assisted on the deal by the company's accountants, Andy Wilson and Lorenzo Coletta at Ascendis, and corporate finance advisors Sam Davies and Brad Seekings at Cowgills Manchester.
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."
