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An ASX announcement said the acquisition would increase Domain’s market coverage from around 35 per cent to approximately 50 per cent of all Australian property transactions.
Domain Holdings Australia Limited, through a wholly owned subsidiary, has entered into a binding agreement to acquire 100 per cent of Realbase.
The agreement sees Domain take on Realbase for upfront cash consideration of $180 million plus contingent consideration of up to $50 million, which may be payable for the achievement of stretch financial performance targets.
According to Domain, it “marks a significant step forward in the evolution of Domain’s marketplace strategy, meaningfully accelerating the scale and impact of Domain’s Agent Solutions business unit, with complementary offerings that create a holistic end-to-end solution for real estate agents”.
On a pro forma basis, the acquisition more than doubles Domain’s Agent Solutions’ revenue for FY22F.
Realbase provides services to agents on around 40 per cent of all Australian property transactions, through brands including Campaigntrack and Realhub.
It was reported that Realbase’s strong senior management team would continue to stay on to run the business post-acquisition.
The ASX statement announcing the agreement shared that the alignment had the potential to unlock “significant pre-tax EBITDA synergies and scaling efficiencies of up to approximately $18 million by FY26”, with the acquisition to be funded by a $180 million underwritten pro-rata accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer.
Nine Entertainment Co, Domain’s largest shareholder, is supportive of the acquisition and equity raising, having already committed to take up 100 per cent of its entitlement under the entitlement offer – representing approximately 59 per cent of the equity raising.
According to Domain chief executive Jason Pellegrino, the acquisition of Realbase “meaningfully increases the scale and impact of Domain’s Agent Solutions unit and strengthens our position as the leading provider of end-to-end agent workflow solutions”.
“For some time we have been impressed by Realbase’s technological capabilities and products including innovative campaign management, high growth digital proposals and a rapidly expanding social media marketing offer,” he said.
Frank Greeff is the CEO of Realbase and has revealed that “when we first started discussing a more connected relationship with Domain and its products, we quickly saw how compatible we were in technology, perspective and team culture”.
He said the business is “looking forward to scaling and growing alongside a company with a long-standing reputation for trust and quality in the industry”.
“We are very excited for the future of this business and our relationship,” he said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grace Ormsby
Grace is a journalist across Momentum property and investment brands. Grace joined Momentum Media in 2018, bringing with her a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) from the University of Newcastle. She’s passionate about delivering easy to digest information and content relevant to her key audiences and stakeholders.
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