The commercial real estate information company CoStar Group Inc. yesterday announced they were to land an $890 million takeover of the San Francisco-based LoopNet Inc. commercial property listings website.
CoStar executives told gathered news reporters at a press conference that LoopNet’s focus on available commercial properties was compatible with the company’s market intelligence services.
“We managed to revolutionize the way industry professionals research real estate in the commercial sector, while LoopNet were responsible for revolutionizing commercial real estate marketing,” said CoStar president Andrew Florence.
“We believe that by combining our companies, the commercial real estate market can utilize the full advantages that the internet has to offer,” he concluded of the deal, which is expected to be completed later this year.
CoStar hope that their takeover of LoopNet will allow them to increase their customer base to around 160,000 users.
There are almost 4.8 million users registered with LoopNet, which operates a subscription only information database. The company, which employees more than 300 people in both Monrovia and San Francisco, will continue to operate independently.
Richard Boyle, CEO and Chairman of LoopNet, said that “Both companies are at the cutting edge of their businesses with regards to innovation, and together we will be even stronger.”
Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP acted as CoStar’s legal representative, while J.P. Morgan played the role of the company’s financial advisors during the deal.