REA Group sells out of Europe to enhance focus on Australia
REA Group, the global online real estate advertising company and parent group of realestate.com.au, is set to sell the European arms of its business.
REA CEO Tracey Fellows said a number of parties were interested in acquiring the businesses.
“We were approached by multiple parties interested in our European businesses and took the opportunity to look at where we could make the greatest impact and optimise return for our shareholders,” she said.
The move will see REA’s European businesses atHome Group S.a.r.l. (including operations in Luxembourg, France and Germany) and REA Group Italia S.r.l. sold to Oakley Capital Private Equity, who are said to back the existing management team.
A release to the ASX on behalf of REA Group said Oakley Capital is well placed for the acquisition, “with strong digital interests and a geographic focus in Italy, including Facile.it, a Milan-based price comparison website”.
The transaction valued REA Europe at 132.6 million euros (AU$189.7 million) on a cash and debt-free basis, and will result in an estimated profit of 115.2 million euros (AU$164.8 million), subject to final completion adjustments.
The sale, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2017 and subject to standard closing conditions and pre-closing adjustments, allows REA Group to focus on its operations closer to home, Fellows said.
“The transaction announced today with Oakley Capital enables us to further sharpen our focus in our key growth areas in the Australian, Asian and North American markets,” she said.
The news comes just days after REA’s Australian portal, realestate.com.au, announced a partnership with National Australia Bank (NAB), which will see the platform offer a suite of home loan products – a move which REA Group said would create “an innovative end-to-end digital property buying experience that will be an Australian first”.
Tracey Fellows, CEO at REA also announced the group has made a move into home loans
The five-year partnership announced on Monday will give realestate.com.au users access to a suite of NAB home loans, a realestate.com.au branded home loan, and offerings from a panel of other lenders.
“The digital experience we are creating in partnership with NAB will make realestate.com.au not only the best source of property insights, information and inspiration, but the place where people can achieve their property dreams more quickly and easily,” Fellows said of the announcement.
