Domain makes first acquisition following Nine takeover, purchasing Commercial View
Domain has entered into an agreement with shareholders of Commercialview.com.au to acquire 100% of the issued share capital in the company.
The acquisition is the second big move by Domain’s CEO Jason Pellegrino, who took the helm from well-known – but controversial – CEO Antony Catalano.
Domain’s year of change continues
After approximately 100 days in office, last week Pellegrino made Domain’s chief sales officer Tom Ainsworth redundant as part of a wider restructure.
The acquisition will occur via a subsidiary of Domain, Commercial Real Estate Media (CREM), which is currently approximately 70% owned by Domain, with the remainder taken up by members of the commercial real estate industry.
Domain itself is now majority owned by Nine, after its previous owner Fairfax Media spun it out as a separately-listed ASX entity. When Fairfax was acquired, the majority shareholding of Domain shifted to Nine.
This new Commercial Real Estate deal is worth between $4.2m and $17.2m depending on future financial performance, and gives Domain a stronger foothold in the commercial property listings space.
On-target consideration is $10.2m, which is equivalent to four times the projected increase in EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) from the transaction for calendar year 2020, including synergies.
The maximum consideration for the acquisition is $17.2m, of which a maximum of $2m is payable in cash, with the remainder payable in newly issued shares in CREM.
The deal is expected to be completed this week, by 21 December.
A release to the ASX this morning noted the synergies between the businesses.
“Commercial View is a commercial property digital listings platform that is owned and supported by some of Australia’s leading commercial real estate agencies in Victoria and New South Wales. The transaction aligns the interests of commercial real estate agents and CREM in strategically important markets. By operating both businesses, CREM will be even better positioned to continue growing market share and earnings,” the release said.
Pellegrino added: “Commercial Real Estate has seen tremendous growth in the last three years, benefiting its customers, shareholders and the broader industry. The unanimous support for the transaction from Commercial View shareholders is a strong vote of confidence in the upside potential of our Commercial Real Estate business.”
Cat was the architect of the deal!
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