Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group, an Australian property firm, announced on Monday that it will no longer pursue a takeover of Rightmove, the U.K.’s leading property portal, following the rejection of its fourth bid.
REA’s final offer, reportedly worth £6 billion (A$11.6 billion), was turned down by Rightmove’s board, which claimed the offer "materially undervalued" the company and its future potential.
REA Group, controlled by Murdoch’s News Corp, maintained a “disciplined approach” to mergers and acquisitions, stating that any bid for Rightmove would need to be based on a “fair price”.
REA’s CEO Owen Wilson expressed disappointment at the lack of engagement from Rightmove, stating that the U.K. firm "had nothing to lose by engaging with us".
Rightmove’s board unanimously rejected REA’s latest offer, which valued the company at 346 pence per share in cash and 0.0417 new REA shares, equating to a 1.3% increase over the previous proposal.
Rightmove noted that shareholder interests would be best served through its independent strategic plan rather than accepting REA's undervalued bid.
Shares of Rightmove dropped 8.3% to 613 pence by Monday afternoon in London. REA’s final offer implied a total value of 780 pence, based on REA’s closing share price as of September 30.
REA Group, which operates property websites across Australia, India, and the U.S., had initially made an offer of £5.6 billion in early September before raising it to £6 billion. Rightmove, however, had consistently rebuffed the proposals, leading to disruptions within the U.K. firm. Chair Andrew Fisher acknowledged the uncertainty caused by the bidding process and urged REA to submit a final offer to conclude the matter.
This marks the end of REA’s attempt to re-enter the U.K. market, following its sale of PropertyFinder Group to Rightmove’s competitor, Zoopla, in 2009 during the Global Financial Crisis.