REA Group has made a fourth offer to the directors of Rightmove to acquire the business and has urged shareholders to get engaged.
In a statement, REA Group said it would offer 346 pence in cash and 0.0417 new REA shares and a special dividend of 6 pence in cash at year-end.
This is a total offer value of 781 pence for each Rightmove share, valuing Rightmove at around £6.2bn.
This is an uplift from £6.1bn in the third offer that was made earlier this week, which Rightmove rejected.
REA Group repeated its “disappointment and surprise” at the “repeated rejections” of prior proposals by Rightmove and has urged shareholders to “make their views known” to the board of directors of Rightmove.
“REA believes it is in Rightmove shareholders’ interests for the board of directors of Rightmove to engage in constructive discussions with REA to work towards a recommended transaction,” the company said.
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The firm said it had repeatedly asked for meetings with Rightmove, but none have taken place, and “no substantive engagement has been made”, barring some “cursory procedural telephone calls” with Rightmove’s chair.
REA Group said it was “ready to engage immediately and firmly believes that engagement is now essential in order to progress the proposal”.
Owen Wilson, CEO of REA, said: “While the Rightmove board has refused to meet with us, we have enjoyed the opportunity to connect with Rightmove shareholders and to share our vision for the combination of the number one digital property businesses in the UK and Australia.
“We continue to see the potential for us to strengthen Rightmove and accelerate its growth. This is a compelling opportunity to create a true global technology leader on the London market via a secondary listing, operating in two of the most attractive markets in the world.”
He added: “We have further improved our offer, and today announce that we intend to include a mix and match facility for shareholders who wish to receive a greater proportion of their consideration in REA shares to do so.
“We believe it is in the interests of Rightmove shareholders for the Rightmove board to engage with us and to extend the 30 September 2024 deadline.”
