Australia’s REA Group considers buying UK-based Rightmove; shares fall
9:42 pm Sunday, September 01st, 2024
(Reuters) -Australian real estate firm REA Group said on Monday it was considering buying London-listed peer Rightmove via a possible cash and share offer, sending its shares down nearly 6%.
Shares of the Melbourne-headquartered group, majority-owned by News Corp, fell as much as 5.9% to A$206.01 by 0118 GMT, posting their biggest intraday percentage drop since December 2022. The benchmark stock index was down 0.3%.
REA Group, in which the Murdoch family owns more than 61%, said it had not yet approached or had any discussions with Rightmove on a potential offer.
Rightmove, Britain’s largest property portal, had a market value of 4.36 billion pounds ($5.73 billion), as of Friday’s close.
Last month, REA Group posted a rise in annual profit, lifted by higher national home listings in Australia. Rightmove, on the other hand, has flagged falling new home numbers in Britain.
UK-based Rightmove did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment.
“There can be no certainty that an offer will be made,” REA Group said in a statement.
The Australian company now has to either lodge a firm bid for Rightmove or back out by Sept. 30, according to the UK’s takeovers rule.
($1 = 0.7613 pounds)
(Reporting by Aaditya Govind Rao in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
