Rupert Murdoch’s Australian property firm REA Group has abandoned plans to take over UK online property portal Rightmove.
Earlier today, the board of Rightmove rejected REA’s fourth bid, of £6.2bn, for the business, describing the offer as “unattractive” and adding that it “materially undervalues Rightmove”.
Following Rightmove’s rejection of the offer, REA Group said it had decided to walk away from a potential takeover.
Owen Wilson, CEO of REA, said: “Against a backdrop of intensifying global competition, we approached Rightmove’s board because we strongly believed in the opportunity to create a globally diversified leader in the digital property sector that would benefit both REA and Rightmove shareholders. We were disappointed with the limited engagement from Rightmove that impeded our ability to make a firm offer within the timetable available. They had nothing to lose by engaging with us.
“We are always financially disciplined when we look at M&A and reinvestment in our business and will continue to focus on the many other opportunities ahead of us. Our recent investment in Athena Home Loans is a great example of this. We have a clear strategy to expand in our core business and adjacent markets, and India represents an exceptional opportunity for growth. We look forward to pursuing these opportunities and generating further value for REA shareholders.”
Following this morning’s announcement, Rightmove’s share price fell by as much as 7.5% to 620p in early trading – down from 668p on Friday evening – before recovering slightly.
