Property site Daft.ie owners explore possible sale, sources say
Amy-Jo Crowley, Reuters
The shareholders of Distilled, which owns popular property site Daft.ie, are exploring options for their holdings including a possible sale that could value the business at as much as €600 million, four people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
It would mark the first disposal by shareholder Adevinta since it was taken private last year by a consortium of private equity funds led by Permira and Blackstone.
The Norwegian classifieds group and Ireland’s Distilled Media Group, which jointly own Distilled, have hired Barclays to advise on their holdings, said three of the people, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Distilled was established in 2015 after the operations of Daft.ie and its sister company, Adverts.ie, were merged with Adevinta’s Donedeal.ie.
Active discussions among the owners are underway about the future shareholder structure of the business, one of the three people said. Distilled Media might opt to maintain a stake in the entity, but no decision has been made, this person added.
Distilled Media Group declined to comment. Adevinta did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The talks come amid increased takeover activity among real estate classified businesses. REA Group, an Australian property listings company controlled by News Corp, this week announced it is considering an offer for UK-listed Rightmove. UK private equity firm Cinven in June bought Spain’s Idealista in a €2.9 billion deal.
The owners are hoping that Distilled can fetch a valuation up to €600 million in a sale, a second and third person said.
Bidders could include private equity firms that could help unlock growth from Distilled SCH and make it more efficient, the second person added.
Daft.ie attracts 2.5 million users every month generating 228 million page impressions and lists about 70,000 properties for sale or to rent on its site at any one time, according to its website. It was founded in 1997 by brothers Eamonn and Brian Fallon.
A consortium led by private equity firms Permira and Blackstone last year agreed to take Adevinta off the stock market for about 141 billion Norwegian crowns (€11.9 billion).
