News Corp stops talks with CoStar for Move Inc. sale
Lachlan and Rupert Murdoch. Photo: Jean Catuffe/GC Images
News Corp is considering its options for Realtor.com parent company Move Inc. after abandoning sale talks with CoStar Group.
Why it matters: The failed deal puts the future of Move Inc. back in limbo and shifts activist hedge fund pressure back into the spotlight.
Flashback: The news of News Corp potentially selling its stake in Move Inc. for more than $3 billion arrived just as News Corp announced it had ended separate plans to merge with Fox Corporation.
Details: News Corp said Tuesday it was no longer discussing the sale of Move Inc. with CoStar and that the company "will continue to actively assess opportunities to ... optimize the value of its Digital Real Estate Services segment."
- CoStar Group CEO Andy Florance confirmed the news on the company's earnings call Tuesday.
- "We have tremendous respect for the people behind Realtor.com and for the National Association of Realtors. But again, I need to make it clear: At this point, CoStar Group is not acquiring Realtor.com," he said.
- News Corp acquired the majority of Move Inc. in 2014. REA Group Limited, which News Corp owns a 62% interest in, acquired the remaining 20% stake.
Catch up quick: Activist investor Irenic Capital, which owns around 2% of News Corp shares, had pushed against the Fox-News Corp. merger idea. Rather than the merger, the hedge fund tried to pressure News Corp to separate its digital media business from its digital real estate assets.
- The Move Inc.-CoStar talks appeared to address that demand.
What we're watching: How Irenic and other investors respond to two failed Murdoch deal arrangements.
