Move, Inc. Acquires Relocation.com
Combining Acquisition with Move's Existing Moving.com Business Creates a Strong #1 in Moving Services Category, Advances Move's Push toward End-to-End Real Estate Services
Campbell, CA., Oct. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Move, Inc. [Nasdaq: MOVE], the leader in online real estate, today announced the acquisition of Relocation.com, an online marketplace that connects home buyers and renters with moving and storage professionals. Combining the acquisition with Move's existing Moving.com business, the company significantly strengthens its offering and creates the clear #1 player in moving services.
The deal represents another step toward Move's strategic goal of creating a one-stop destination for the industry's most comprehensive and accurate real estate listings, as well as adjacent services like moving and storage that make the real estate process easier and more convenient for consumers. The acquisition also bolsters Move's focus on the residential rental market, which in the U.S. is expected to add five to six million households in the next decade, according to the Washington D.C.-based Bipartisan Policy Center.
"Our goal is to create the leading online marketplace for real estate related information and services," said Steve Berkowitz, Move's chief executive officer. "Bringing Relocation.com under the Move umbrella and merging it with our Moving.com business extends our value to consumers by increasing the resources and tools at their disposal. At the same time, it extends our value to the industry by giving the 40 million Americans who move each year more reasons to engage with us."
Relocation.com is a premier online resource for consumers preparing to move to a new home or apartment. The service works with pre-screened and licensed moving, auto transport and storage companies from across the country — and internationally — in order to reduce the stress consumers often feel about the relocation process. Adding Relocation.com's scale and reach to Moving.com's recognized best-in-class quality practices creates a powerful offering in moving services.
The purchase price of the acquisition was $11.5 million in cash, of which $9.5 million was paid upon the deal close, with the remainder to be paid in two equal amounts on the first and second anniversaries of the close. The financial impact of the transaction will be reflected in Move's fourth quarter 2012 financial statements. Management expects the acquisition to begin to contribute to revenue and EBITDA in the fourth quarter of 2012 and to be accretive to 2013 earnings. The acquisition will be discussed during the company's third quarter earnings call on November 5, 2012.
ABOUT MOVE
Move, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOVE), the leader in online real estate, operates: Realtor.com® and the award-winning Realtor.com suite of real estate search mobile apps; Top Producer Systems, a leading developer of real estate sales and marketing software; ListHub, the leading syndicator of real estate listings and performance reports; TigerLead Solutions, the premier lead generation and lead management system for real estate professionals; Move.com; Moving.com, and SeniorHousingNet. Move, Inc. is based in Campbell, California.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including information about management's view of Move's future expectations, plans and prospects, within the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the results of Move, its subsidiaries, divisions and concepts to be materially different than those expressed or implied in such statements. These risk factors and others are included from time to time in documents Move files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to, its Form 10-Ks, Form 10-Qs and Form 8-Ks. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could have material adverse effects on Move's future results. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date hereof. Move cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Finally, Move expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
SOURCE: Move, Inc.