REA withdrew its interest in Rightmove this week, following a series of bids that eventually topped £6bn. The thing is, Rightmove is only worth £4.5bn, according to the City, and so why did shareholders shun the Australian business?
Renowned property commentator Russell Quirk believes that the Board of Rightmove will regret not doing this deal, and has accused them of potentially acting in their own best interests rather than Rightmove shareholders. Do you agree?
Watch now:
Comments (7)
@RussellQ you speak common sense.
Rightmove are not at the end. But they are at the beginning of the end.
I don’t think the board will regret their decision.
Might I suggest that the issue at hand might be the method of valuation?
£4.5b is the “old-fashioned” ROI calculation of the value of the company.
£6b, i.e. £1.5b over the ROI value, is what REA thinks the value of all that data going back 28 years is worth.
Some internet “unicorn” startups are given stupid crazy values during funding rounds that are waaaaay higher than this on usually negative cashflow and only the promise of potential growth due to a moment in the zeitgeist.
And of course, Rightmove haven’t started using the “AI” words yet. What happens to the value of the company if they introduce an AI product? Stratospheric? Who knows, but it’s worked for several others.
Rightmove were right to reject a deal that was so dependent on RAE paper( which was declining daily) . An all cash deal is a far better outcome for shareholders.
This is not over, there’s blood in the water and I wouldn’t be surprised if bigger sharks with deeper pockets appear.
When is the average shareholder ever better off without dividends? It’s obvius the decision to keep taking advantage of dopey estate agents, paying £2000 a month for a £200 a month product , is too hard to let go.
What does this clown know? Sold a lot of businesses have you `Russell? …… Oh, that would be a no … not a single one! I simply don’t know why PIE keeps give this chap screen space.
Thanks for your comment Steve.
We all look forward to your video commentary wisdom on the Rightmove share value dynamic live from your cow shed in Necton.
PS. Is there anything in my video that you disagree with? If you could let us all know… and why.
We’ll wait 😉
Obviously, touched a bit of a nerve then Russell!