Rupert Murdoch’s Australian property business has made a last-ditch takeover bid for Rightmove, while also ramping up criticism of the board’s refusal to engage.
REA Group unveiled its latest £6.2bn offer on Friday morning, marking its fourth bid for the UK’s largest online property portal ahead of a looming deadline.
The latest offer reflects a significant premium on Rightmove’s current valuation on the London Stock Exchange, which fell to £5.21bn last night.
It is also marginally higher than the £6.1bn bid tabled earlier this week, having initially offered £5.6bn and £5.9bn.
As part of its announcement, REA said it was seeking an extension to the takeover deadline on Sept 30.
Bosses also reiterated its “disappointment and surprise at the repeated rejections of its prior proposals”, claiming it has “repeatedly requested meetings” without success.
REA said it was “ready to engage immediately” with Rightmove, with City analysts warning that the group could take a more hostile approach if its latest offer is rejected.
Owen Wilson, the chief executive of REA, said: “While the Rightmove board has refused to meet with us, we have enjoyed the opportunity to connect with Rightmove shareholders and to share our vision for the combination of the [number one] digital property businesses in the UK and Australia.
“We continue to see the potential for us to strengthen Rightmove and accelerate its growth. This is a compelling opportunity to create a true global technology leader on the London market via a secondary listing, operating in two of the most attractive markets in the world.
“We have further improved our offer, and today announce that we intend to include a mix-and-match facility for shareholders who wish to receive a greater proportion of their consideration in REA shares to do so.
“We believe it is in the interests of Rightmove shareholders for the Rightmove Board to engage with us and to extend the 30 September 2024 deadline.”
It comes just days after a top Rightmove shareholder urged the company to begin “serious” talks with the Murdoch-controlled group.
AXA Investment Managers, which holds a £67m stake in Rightmove, said the board should start to engage with REA after rebuffing its third takeover offer in as many weeks.
Jamie Forbes-Wilson, fund manager at AXA, said: “We would agree that it feels a little opportunistic for REA to be coming along at this time, but it is also recognition that REA sees Rightmove as the high-quality business that we as long-term holders of the share think that it is.”
“This feels like the starting point for a serious conversation between two businesses that in combination could be a pretty exciting prospect.”
REA’s bid highlights efforts by the Murdoch family to diversify away from its traditional media business as patriarch Rupert hands over the reins to his eldest son, Lachlan.
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