By Stuart Condie
SYDNEY--U.S. real-estate analytics provider CoStar agreed to buy Australia's Domain in a sweetened deal valuing the property advertiser at about US$1.92 billion.
Domain said Friday that it entered into a takeover scheme with CoStar, which had been examining its books for the past five weeks. CoStar improved its all-cash proposal to 4.45 Australian dollars, equivalent to about US$2.85, a share.
CoStar, which operates U.S. portals including Homes.com, initially offered A$4.20 a share. On March 31, it secured exclusive access to Domain's books with a A$4.43 proposal.
Access to CoStar's deeper pockets and technological expertise could help Domain in its long-running rivalry with News Corp-controlled REA Group.
Domain has long labored unsuccessfully to overcome REA's first-mover advantage in Australian online property classifieds. REA, still the No. 1 player, has a market capitalization of almost US$21 billion.
"This proposal is an endorsement of the strong fundamentals of Domain, and we are confident this position will be further strengthened with CoStar's support," Domain Chair Nick Falloon said.
CoStar's revised proposal comes 15 months after it completed a US$125 million takeover of OnTheMarket, one of the U.K.'s three most-visited residential property portals.
At the time, CoStar Chief Executive Andy Florance said his company would integrate OnTheMarket into its network and invest millions of dollars in the U.K. business.
CoStar, which doesn't have any existing businesses in Australia or New Zealand, could seek to leverage its technology to boost Domain's engagement with consumers. Last year, CoStar bought 3-D property mapping provider Matterport in a US$1.6 billion deal, acquiring the ability to offer virtual property tours to potential buyers.
Domain's board unanimously recommended the deal. Nine Entertainment, which owns 60% of Domain shares, said it supported the proposal.
Domain shares were up 2.9% at A$4.375 following the announcement. REA shares were down 2.7%.
Domain expects shareholders to vote on the transaction, which is subject to conditions including approval by Australia's foreign-investment regulator, in mid August.
News Corp owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of this newswire and The Wall Street Journal.
Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 08, 2025 20:38 ET (00:38 GMT)
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