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Rupert Murdoch has abandoned a fresh bid for Rightmove after Donald Trump’s tariffs plunged global markets into chaos.
Mr Murdoch’s property group REA had been considering a renewed swoop on the UK’s largest online estate agent six months after its last £6.2bn offer was rebuffed.
However, bosses are understood to have dropped the plans this week as the US president’s sweeping tariffs and fears of an escalating global trade war sent markets into a frenzy.
Australia-based REA previously scrapped its pursuit of Rightmove in September after four unsuccessful approaches for the London-listed property company. It took aim at Rightmove’s board for what it branded “limited engagement”.
At £6.2bn, its last cash and share offer represented a significant premium to the company’s market valuation of around £5bn.
Nevertheless, Rightmove unanimously rejected the bid, which it branded “unattractive” and said “materially undervalues” the company. Analysts have argued the company should be valued at as much as £7.7bn.
The renewed interested in Rightmove followed a strong run for Melbourne-based REA, which owns a portfolio of online residential property brands led by the realestate.com website. Its share price has risen 15pc since it walked away from the prospect of a takeover, giving it a market value of A$30bn (£14bn).
Rightmove’s share price is up around 8pc over the same period to 669p, though this remains well below the 780p per share price implied in REA’s latest offer.
REA’s decision to abandon its fresh approach for Rightmove underscores how Mr Trump’s volatile approach to trade policy has torched market confidence and stymied dealmaking.
Global stock markets have suffered their worst week since the outbreak of Covid plunged the world into lockdowns. Deals and stock market floats worth billions of dollars, including that of Swedish payments firm Klarna, have been put on hold as a result.
The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday reported that Prada’s planned $1.4bn takeover of Versace was at risk of collapsing at the eleventh hour because of market turmoil.
However, tariffs could hand a much-needed boost to the UK’s housing market as investors bet on the Bank of England slashing interest rates, bringing down mortgage rates.
Mr Murdoch’s second run on Rightmove also highlights a determination to diversify his News Corp empire away from its media assets, which include The Times and Sun newspapers and Fox News.
He has been thwarted in these efforts to date, however. In 2023, News Corp abandoned talks to sell its US real estate business Move, Inc to rival CoStar in a deal worth a reported $3bn.