The acquisition battle for CoreLogic isn’t over, it seems. In a new development, CoStar has upped its bid on the company, which had initially agreed to an acquisition by private equity firms Stone Point Capital and Insights Partners, who offered an all-cash bid of $80 per share (about $6 billion).
This is the second bid increase from CoStar, which is now offering $97 a share including a cash portion, according to a letter recently submitted to the CoreLogic Board of Directors. This is a $17-per-share improvement (about $1.25 billion) over CoreLogic’s agreement with Stone Point Capital and insights Partners.
Should CoreLogic choose to pivot and accept this new bid, shareholders would receive $6 per share in cash and 0.1019 shares of CoStar stock in exchange for each of their shares. CoStar Group has also proposed paying an advance fee of $165 million to terminate the previously-agreed-upon acquisition of CoreLogic.
“We write to provide you with updated terms of a negotiated transaction, which we are confident constitute a ‘superior proposal’ under your existing agreement with Stone Point Capital and Insight Partners,” stated the letter. “CoStar Group is committed to moving forward with such a transaction.”
In 2020, CoreLogic profits were strong, reporting $1.17 billion in revenue for the first nine months of the year. CoStar recently reported its 2020 revenue, which showed an increase of 19% year-over-year to $1.4 billion.
These moves follow a string of real estate data company acquisitions happening across the industry. CoStar Group Inc., for example, recently acquired Homesnap for $250 million, expanding its services into residential real estate. Meanwhile, Zillow Group is also in search of growing its data capabilities, recently acquiring ShowingTime for $500 million.
Also Breaking: Constellation Real Estate Group has just announced they are acquiring Top Producer from Move, Inc. The acquisition includes Top Producer’s full suite of products, including Top Producer 8i and its newly designed TPX CRM, Market Snapshot, FiveStreet and Top Producer websites along with over 27,000 customers and 70 employees. Top Producer’s solutions also include integrated MLS data, social media insights and Market Snapshot reports. Stay tuned for more developments.
The stakes are high as businesses seek to lay claim to data in an industry where information can provide significant competitive advantages.
CoreLogic has confirmed receipt of the newly proposed bid increase, stating it will “carefully review the proposal in consultation with its outside legal counsel and financial advisors.”
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to RISMedia for updates.
Liz Dominguez is the senior online editor for RISMedia. Email her your real estate news ideas to lizd@rismedia.com.
