Property information and analytics provider CoreLogic has confirmed that it has received an unsolicited acquisition proposal from CoStar Group, less than two weeks after it accepted an offer from private equity firms Stone Point Capital and Insight Partners.
Under the terms of CoStar’s all-stock proposal, CoreLogic shareholders would receive 0.1019 shares of CoStar Group common stock in exchange for each share of CoreLogic common stock.
At time of writing, CoStar stocks are valued at $892, meaning CoreLogic shareholders could expect their shares to be valued at just over $90 each.
This compares with the all-cash $80 per share offer that CoreLogic has already accepted from Stone Point and Insight, which was itself considered to be a substantial mark-up on an earlier $65 per share offer that the firm rejected in July 2020.
CoreLogic stressed that the merger agreement with Stone Point and Insight is still “in full force and effect”, although it remains subject to shareholder approval.
Addressing the new offer, the Board said it would “carefully review the proposal in consultation with its outside legal counsel and financial advisors to determine whether it is or would reasonably be expected to result in a superior proposal.”
Evercore is serving as financial advisor to CoreLogic and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is serving as the Company’s legal advisor.
Last year, CoreLogic was embroiled in a months-long battle with investors Senator Investment Group and Cannae Holdings after it rejected a $65 per share acquisition offer.
Senator and Cannae accused CoreLogic of acting against the interests of shareholders and tried to oust members of the CoreLogic board. However, in October CoreLogic was vindicated after receiving multiple acquisition offers that valued the company at or above $80 per share.
But the drama could now be set to continue if either CoreLogic’s Board or its shareholders decide that new offer from CoStar is preferable.
It remains to be seen how the situation will play out, although it could result in upward revisions of the bid from Stone Point and Insight, or new offers from other parties, given that CoreLogic had been fielding multiple offers in the $80 per share range.
Founded in 1987, CoStar is a provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces.
