SEATTLE AND SAN FRANCISCO – Zillow, an online real estate database headquartered in Seattle, has agreed to buy out its competitor, San Francisco-based Trulia, for $3.5 billion in a stock-for-stock transaction.
Each company will maintain its individual brand following the merger. Both will continue to provide buyers, sellers, homeowners and renters free access to information about homes and real estate. They will also maintain their advertising and software solutions platforms.
Pete Flint, Trulia’s CEO, will maintain his position once the deal closes in 2015. He will report to Spencer Rascoff, Zillow’s CEO. Flint will also join the combined company’s Board of Directors.
Both Zillow and Trulia are primarily considered to be media companies, as the majority of their revenue is generated through advertising sales to real estate professionals.
Zillow reported a record 83 million unique users across mobile and web this past June, while Trulia reported a record 54 million monthly unique users across its sites and mobile apps during the same time.
Though both sites offer consumers relatively comparable products, the two brands have limited overlap. About half of Trulia.com’s monthly visitors do not visit Zillow.com, and about two-thirds of Zillow.com’s monthly visitors across all devices do not use Trulia.com, according to the companies.
Per the agreement, Trulia shareholders will receive 0.444 shares of Class A Common Stock of Zillow, Inc.for each share of Trulia. These shareholders will own about 33 percent of the combined company at closing.
Current Zillow shareholders of Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock will receive one comparable share of the combined company at closing. This will represent about 67 percent of the combined company.
Goldman, Sachs & Co. served as Zillow’s exclusive financial advisor, while Shearman & Sterling LLP and Perkins Coie LLP acted as legal counsel. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Qatalyst Partners LP served as Trulia’s financial advisors, while Goodwin Procter LLP and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati acted as legal counsel.