Rupert Murdoch at his annual party at Spencer House, St James' Place in London. Photo date: Thursday June 22, 2023.
Victoria Jones | Dad Images | fake images
LONDON – REA Group, Rupert Murdoch's Australian property firm, said on Monday it would no longer seek to buy Britain's Rightmove after the property portal rejected a fourth proposed bid.
REA said it maintains a “disciplined approach” to mergers and acquisitions and that its bid for Rightmove was dependent on striking a deal at a “fair price”.
“We were disappointed with Rightmove's limited commitment which prevented our ability to make a firm offer within the available timeline. They had nothing to lose by engaging with us,” said REA chief executive Owen Wilson.
Meanwhile, Rightmove said in a separate statement on Monday that it was rejecting the REA Group's fourth proposed bid on the grounds that it “materially undervalued Rightmove and its future prospects”.
The offer, made on Friday, for 346p in cash and 0.0417 new REA shares, implied an additional 10p in value or 1.3%, compared to the previous third proposal, according to Rightmove.
Rightmove shares were trading 8.4% lower on Monday afternoon London time.
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