Murdoch’s REA ends month-long takeover pursuit of Britain’s Rightmove

RIGHTMOVE’S shares dropped 8 per cent on Monday (Sep 30) after Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group ended its US$8.29 billion takeover pursuit following a fourth bid rejection from the British real estate portal.

Australian property listing firm REA’s decision to walk away from making a formal offer for Rightmove ahead of a 1600 GMT deadline capped a month-long saga that saw the London-listed firm rebuff four proposals on valuation concerns.

Rightmove’s shares, which had rallied 20 per cent since the first bid was made public on Sep 2, were down more than 8 per cent at 614.40 pence at 1134 GMT.

“The lack of meaningful engagement and the consistent lack of information provided by Rightmove impeded the ability to progress discussions and work together towards a recommended transaction, within the timetable permitted,” REA said in a statement.

Earlier on Monday, Rightmove said it had declined a request from REA to grant due diligence access, adding that shareholder interests would be better served through the execution of its standalone strategic plan.

REA, which had requested an extension of the deadline to make a formal offer, said it was disappointed that Rightmove was “unwilling to do so”.

“But REA is excited to pursue its many other avenues for growth,” it said.

Analysts at JPMorgan had said that its conversations with investors had suggested an offer price of at least about 800 pence to 850 pence per share would have been needed to see the deal through.

The latest proposal by REA Group, which is 62 per cent owned by Murdoch’s News Corp, consisted of 346 pence in cash, 0.0417 new REA shares and a special dividend of six pence in cash. That gave Rightmove an implied value of 781 pence per share, about a 3 per cent increase over the previous bid.

Rightmove, the runaway house search market leader in the UK, has faced increased competition over the past year or so from rival OnTheMarket, which was bought by American property firm CoStar in 2023.

The UK company looks primed for a steady recovery from a property market downturn as the potential for more rate cuts boosts sentiment in the UK housing sector. REUTERS