(Bloomberg) -- CoStar Group Inc. boosted its offer to acquire CoreLogic Inc. to about $97 a share including a cash portion in the latest twist in a bidding war for the real estate data company.
The latest offer represents a $17-a-share improvement over CoreLogic's recent agreement with funds managed by Stone Point Capital and Insight Partners, and is equivalent to more than $1.25 billion in aggregate value, CoStar said in a statement Monday.
CoreLogic shareholders would receive $6 a share in cash and 0.1019 shares of CoStar stock in exchange for each of their shares.
“CoStar Group is committed to moving forward with such a transaction,” CoStar Chief Executive Officer Andrew Florance said in a letter to CoreLogic's board. “We expect the CoreLogic board to deem this proposal to be a ‘superior proposal' within 48 hours.”
CoStar also agreed to an antitrust covenant that would make it take all actions to obtain approvals up to a material adverse effect on the combined company.
“We understand that certainty of closing is a key concern for the CoreLogic board,” Florance said said.
CoStar said it would also pay a $165 million termination fee in advance to CoreLogic.
CoreLogic confirmed the receipt of the revised offer and said it would carefully review it. It still recommends its existing agreement with Stone Point Capital and Insight Partners.
Shares of CoreLogic rose 1.6% to $86 while CoStar shares were down 0.3% at $821.07 at 10:32 a.m. in New York.
The revised proposal comes two weeks after CoStar's last takeover offer.
The U.S. housing boom, fueled by historically low mortgage rates and the pandemic-era grab for extra space, has ignited interest in property technology. That's made CoreLogic, known in the real estate world for its home-price indexes, an appealing takeover target.
The Irvine, California-based company had launched a strategic review in November amid a boardroom battle with investors Cannae Holdings Inc. and Senator Investment Group. The pair subsequently won three seats on CoreLogic's board.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
