With the number of significant platform transactions reviewed by agencies on the rise, economists and economic analysis are taking a greater role in the assessment of these mergers.
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(Reuters) - U.S. property data and analytics company CoreLogic Inc has asked peer CoStar Group Inc for more assurances that it can complete their combination should it attract antitrust scrutiny, people familiar with the matter said.
CoStar unveiled a $6.9 billion all-stock bid for CoreLogic earlier this month, after the latter agreed to sell itself to a private equity consortium of Stone Point Capital and Insight Partners for about $6 billion.
CoreLogic has informed CoStar it would be willing to declare its bid superior and abandon its deal with the private equity firms if CoStar provides more certainty that the transaction will be completed expeditiously, the sources said.
Real-estate brokerage Redfin Corp. has agreed to buy apartment search site operator RentPath Holdings Inc. out of bankruptcy for $608 million, in a deal that would combine operators of leading U.S. property listing websites for purchasing and renting a home.
Redfin Corp. will pay $608 million for bankrupt online property marketing company RentPath Holdings Inc., the companies said Friday, in an agreement that comes only a few months after CoStar Group's attempted RedPath acquisition fell apart over federal competition concerns.
Thursday, February 11, 2021
Marisa E. Poncia
Despite initial obstacles because of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 rounded out to be the busiest year for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) enforcement in the United States in nearly two decades. In the fourth quarter, US agencies challenged five transactions. November 2020 saw the most premerger filings in any month since 2001. Mergers and filings in the United States are predicted to remain at high levels into the new year in light of the current economic climate. The antitrust agencies have continued to maintain that their evaluation and investigation of anticompetitive harm will remain rigorous despite the uncertain times.