News Corp on Tuesday said it is no longer in talks to sell Move Inc. – operator of Realtor.com – to CoStar Group, a deal that was reportedly coming together last month in the $3 billion range.
News Corp confirmed the demise of the deal in a blog post. The company said it “will continue to actively assess opportunities to support the Company’s strategy to optimize the value of its Digital Real Estate Services segment and otherwise maximize shareholder value.”
Bloomberg first reported in January that News Corp. was in talks to move Move Inc. to commercial property services conglomerate CoStar Group in a deal valued at $3 billion. That report came just one day after NewsCorp. had nixed a proposed merger with Fox.
Bloomberg cited anonymous sources saying the sale could be finalized within days, though CNBC reported it was more likely to be completed within weeks. About that, News Corp made clear Tuesday it had spoken its piece: “News Corp does not intend to make any additional comments regarding this matter unless and until it is appropriate or required to do so.”
Move Inc. was acquired by News Corp. almost a decade ago in a $950 million transaction in which 20% of the company became co-owned by Australia-based online real estate firm REA Group Ltd.
CoStar’s Realtor.com and sister sites, including Apartments.com and with a market value of about $32 billion, provide information and marketing services to the commercial-property industry. The company did not have any comment Tuesday.
