Talks between the companies are ongoing and may not lead to a deal, Bloomberg said. Both Zillow and Trulia declined to comment on the report.
Speculation that the online real estate space is ripe for consolidation helped push Zillow’s market capitalization past $5 billion last month, after analysts at Canaccord Genuity detailed their growth expectations for the company and raised the possibility of an eventual merger with Trulia.
Six investors with a 42 percent stake in Zillow also own 52 percent of Trulia, Canaccord analysts noted at the time, “potentially reflecting their desire to see consolidation in the vertical.”
“This has been rumored for a while and with the cross-ownership from Tiger Global Management and Caledonia some thought those investors would push for this,” said Bradley Safalow, founder and CEO of stock analysis firm PAA Research.
“I can’t see how this deal works,” Safalow said.
“Forgetting about the fact that Zillow and Trulia hate each other, a merger would make it easier for brokerage firms to stop working with them or squeeze them on featured listings programs,” Safalow said.
There were also rumors in June that Trulia might be interested in acquiring realtor.com operator Move Inc.
Zillow and Trulia’s share prices surged to new record highs in early afternoon trading today.
A merger between the two of the most popular real estate sites would further concentrate the consumer audience in the online real estate space, which has been narrowing in recent months with the multi-million dollar national marketing campaigns Zillow, Trulia and realtor.com have each rolled out this year.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://www.inman.com/2014/07/24/zillow-and-trulias-share-prices-surge-on-merger-rumors/?utm_source=20140724&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsflash
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