News Corp says 4.4b deal to sell US real estate business Move is off

A month after abruptly halting plans for a potential merger of its major media companies Fox Corporation and News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch’s business empire said it’s no longer involved in discussions to sell its real-estate listings business Move to rival CoStar.

The publishing company controlled by the Murdoch family had been in talks to sell the parent of Realtor.com and other real estate-related websites for more than US3 billion (4.4 billion), people familiar with the talks said last month. The Financial Times had reported News Corp was to sell the entirety of its 80 per cent stake under the plans.

News Corp said in a statement on Tuesday that it will “actively assess opportunities” as it continues a strategy of optimising the value of its online real estate segment, declining to make further comments. The company has received interest from other potential buyers, said a person familiar with the talks who asked not be identified because they are private.

On a conference call with investors on Tuesday, CoStar Chief Executive Officer Andrew Florance confirmed that “at this point CoStar Group is not acquiring Realtor.com.” CoStar plans to continue investing in its Homes.com site, which is gaining traffic, he said.

“We still have a lot of work to do here,” Florance said. “But we have a clear roadmap and have our heads down focused on building the best residential real estate portal in the United States.”

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News Corp owns about 80 per cent of Move, while the remaining 20 per cent is held by REA Group, which is also majority-owned by News Corp.

Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch last month called off discussions to merge News Corp with Fox Corp, the broadcasting business they also control.

News Corp investors had objected to the merger in part because they said it undervalued assets such as the company’s real estate business.