Sky News is reporting that CoStar Group, a $33bn (£27.2bn) property group, is to buy OnTheMarket (OTM) in a £100m deal that is expected to be announced tomorrow.
The OnThe Market Board is expected to recommend the offer to shareholders and the price will likely show a large premium on OTM’s closing share price today of 70.5p
A source reported to be close to the negotiations is reported as saying the deal will give OnTheMarket the wherewithal to take on both Rightmove and Zoopla for top portal position.
EYE has approached OTM for comment.
OTM will release its interim results tomorrow morning at 7am.
Comments (9)
Spent 5 years working for the Costar group who are a company already successful in the UK.
Andy Florence the founder and CEO is highly regarded in the property industry in the US and won’t spend £100 million for it not to work, anywhere in the world.
Look at their growth since they were formed in 1986 by Florence in the US and what they’ve done in the UK commercial property market and you will see a company with a strong management team and the resources to compete in the UK and I’m sure will transform the portal market.
Rightmove should be very concerned.
American ownership = profit before people. In every single case that has besmirched this industry.
Finally, all those fees I have paid over the years will payoff when the shares are sold!!
Happy days
Question is for how much is this “premium”
Don’t really care, as I have enough shares for it to still be a significant sum just at the market price today. Good times and glad I held on to them and continued my support of OTM.
I’m impressed you can remember what you paid for your shares! I have no idea – but a free holiday would be nice….
Very interesting…Wonder what the share price does in the morning?
On the one hand – so much for being agent owned
On the other, CoStar is enormous, and is probably the one company who CAN make OTM the number one portal.
Better get the popcorn in.
Agent owned by agents who were too afraid to cut the umbilical cord of RM and continually promote them over their own investment. Never happy!