REA Buys Stake in Mortgage Lender as Rightmove Saga Continues

By Stuart Condie

SYDNEY--Australian property advertiser REA Group, which is trying to buy U.K. counterpart Rightmove in a multi-billion dollar deal, has agreed to buy a stake in local mortgage lender Athena Home Loans.

REA on Thursday said it would pay up to 62 million Australian dollars ($42.3 million) out of existing cash reserves to fund the acquisition of a 19.9% interest in the digital non-bank lender. REA will take two seats on Athena's board.

The property classifieds group has had a strategic partnership with Athena since 2022, distributing Athena's loans through REA's Mortgage Choice financial-services business.

The companies' Mortgage Choice-branded products delivered A$1.2 billion in settlements over the 12 months through June.

"An equity investment builds on the success of our innovative Mortgage Choice Freedom home-loan products and forms a strong alliance to support the delivery of our strategy," REA Chief Executive Owen Wilson said.

Rightmove on Wednesday rejected a third bid from News Corp-controlled REA Group, saying the latest A$8.05 billion offer still materially undervalues the company and its future prospects.

REA Group is controlled by News Corp, which owns Dow Jones & Co., the publisher of Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 25, 2024 19:44 ET (23:44 GMT)

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