UK's Rightmove to consider latest buyout offer from Murdoch-controlled property site 

Property listings website has managed to extract quickfire sweeteners from REA worth about £500m by previously keeping its doors closed

The REA Group is controlled by Rupert Murdoch through News Corp. 

UK real estate website Rightmove has said it will consider a £6.1bn (€7.3bn) sweetened bid from REA Group — the third proposal in less than three weeks from the Australian property portal.

The offer stands 2.8% higher than a previous bid by REA, which is part of media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s empire. REA had expressed frustration at the UK firm’s refusal to even discuss a deal after rejecting its two previous offers.

Rightmove said its board “will carefully consider the increased proposal, together with its financial advisers”, according to a statement.

The UK’s go-to website for property listings has managed to extract quickfire sweeteners from REA worth about £500m by previously keeping its doors closed. The interest from the largest player in the Australian online real estate industry has sent Rightmove’s stock soaring 25% since the start of September.

The risk for Rightmove shareholders is that REA walks away and shares in the UK company slump.

Rightmove has maintained steady revenue growth in recent years and its future prospects are looking bright as the UK housing market is expected to pick up on declining interest rates and efforts by the new Labour government to increase housing supply through a slew of planning reforms.

The strength of Rightmove’s fundamentals explain the acquisition interest, with more high-single-digit sales gains likely in 2024-25, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence report. The British firm may yet again reject the offer, and a bid north of 800 pence is more likely to be accepted, according to the report.

While Rightmove enjoys the largest market share in the UK property portal market, rival OnTheMarket recently launched an expansion drive after being acquired by US real estate firm CoStar Group.

REA has already expanded into other markets including India. REA plans to have a secondary stock market listing in London if it buys Rightmove.

Before Rightmove announced its decision to consider the latest offer, it had rejected proposals from REA for 705 pence a share and 749 pence a share.

REA pushed the London-based company’s shareholders to agitate for talks to kick off. It urged them to encourage the UK company “to engage in constructive discussions”. 

“We are genuinely disappointed at the lack of engagement by Rightmove’s board,” REA chief executive Owen Wilson said.

Bloomberg