Whatever Happened to the CoStar-LoopNet Merger?

oStar Group Inc.’s (NASDAQ-CSGP) announcement in late April 2011 that it would be purchasing arch rival LoopNet (NASDAQ-LOOP) shocked the real estate world and raised eyebrows on Wall Street. Now almost a year later, the deal seems to be dying on the vine as the Federal Trade Commission continues to scrutinize it for antitrust issues. The result of the merger would be a near monopoly on the commercial real estate listing industry. The FTC began their investigation of the proposed $850 Million dollar purchase on July 1st, but has yet to rule. On January 31st, global investment banking firm William Blair gave the deal a “less than 50% chance of going through” based on the structure of the deal, the estimated market share both firms presently hold, and the amount of time the case has been under review by the FTC.

We will see how…and when the Federal Government finally rules on the matter. Personally, I’d hate to see LoopNet disappear. Its free and user-friendly style would be missed.

All of this begs the question-why isn’t there more competition out there? Well for what it’s worth, you now have a new web option for posting your properties for sale or lease…The Commercial Listings page on The Real Estate Seen! If you are interested in listing a property for free on The Real Estate Seen- just email us at info@jblrealestatellc.com.

  by Mike