The US real estate platform will now begin due diligence on the deal after Domain’s board endorsed an improved and final offer for the company.
On Friday, CoStar tabled a new bid to takeover Domain that valued the Australian marketplace business at $2.8 billion, which amounts to $4.43 per share. Last week Domain informed investors of its intention to allow CoStar access to carry out due diligence.
CoStar now has a four week exclusivity period, which can be extended by a further two weeks, to run the rule over the Domain Group and its finances.
Nine, which owns a 60 per cent stake in Domain as the controlling shareholder, has backed the CoStar offer.
Domain sits within Nine’s ‘marketplace’ division that is led by chief digital officer Alex Parsons.
If the sale completes, it would represent a bumper $1.4 billion pay day for Nine, which had been considering what to do with its stake in Domain as the listings business has struggled to grow at a similar rate to its main rival REA Group in recent years.
