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News Corp will buy Move for $950 million

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp (NWS) has agreed to purchase Move (MOVE), which operates Realtor.com for the National Association of Realtors, for $950 million in cash.

Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, which was announced on Tuesday, News Corp will acquire all of Move’s outstanding shares for $21 per share. According to a release from News Corp, that price represents a premium of 37% over Move’s closing stock price on September 29.

As of 10:23 a.m. EDT, Move’s stock was trading at $20.93 per share, which is up nearly 27% for the day thus far. The stock closed on Monday at $15.29.

News Corp. said that as part of the deal, REA Group Limited, which is 61.6% owned by News Corp. and operates realestate.com.au in Australia, will hold a 20% stake in Move.

The remaining 80% will be held by News Corp.

REA’s share will be acquired for approximately $200 million, News Corp said. News Corp also said that it intends to commence a tender offer for all of the shares of common stock of Move within 10 business days, followed by a merger to acquire any untendered shares.

“This acquisition will accelerate News Corp’s digital and global expansion and contribute to the transformation of our company, making online real estate a powerful pillar of our portfolio,” said Robert Thomson, Chief Executive of News Corp.

“We intend to use our media platforms and compelling content to turbo-charge traffic growth and create the most successful real estate website in the US,” Thomson added. “We are building on our existing real estate expertise and expect to leverage the potential of Move and its valuable connections with Realtors and consumers around the country.”

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Come back tomorrow to http://www.AshfordCP.com/blog  where Kennesaw’s Ashford Capital Partners’ Managing Partners Matthew Riedemann brings you news you can use.