CoStar taps Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Macquarie Capital for Domain tilt
The Nine-controlled real estate platform said its board, who market sources say has sounded out UBS to assist, has started work on assessing the offer.
US digital real estate business CoStar has tapped Corrs Chambers Westgarth to work alongside Macquarie Capital on its takeover bid for local property platform Domain which was set in motion through an after market raid on Thursday evening.
The USD32 billion ($50 billion) Nasdaq-listed company acquired a 7.5% stake in Domain from a single selling shareholder on Thursday to build an initial position at $4.20 a share, according to people familiar with the situation not authorised to speak publicly.
Fidelity was on Friday identified by market sources as the seller. The fund manager, according to a February 2024 market disclosure, was Domain’s second-largest shareholder with a 9.06% stake, behind Nine Entertainment, which controls Domain with a 60% stake.
Macquarie Capital executed a further raid to lift the US company’s stake beyond 10% at the same price. The price represents a roughly 34% premium to Domain's last closing price and is the highest since August 2023.
