CoStar Group, a commercial real estate data and listings company, is nearing a deal to acquire housing‑market data provider Zonda for nearly $800 million from private equity firm MidOcean Partners, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The acquisition would expand CoStar’s residential data offering into new home construction, an area where Zonda tracks housing starts, land supply and builder activity, the sources said.
The deal is expected to be announced as early as Thursday, the sources added.
CoStar and Zonda did not respond to requests for comment, while MidOcean Partners declined to comment.
CoStar, which has a market value of about $13.2 billion, has shed roughly half of its market capitalization since the start of the year amid commercial real estate headwinds and concerns over residential investment spending, according to analysts.
Based in Washington, D.C., CoStar provides data, analytics and online marketplaces used by brokers, investors and lenders to track property listings, pricing and market trends. Zonda offers data, research and software focused on the U.S. housing market, particularly new home construction.
CoStar has expanded through acquisitions in recent years, including apartment listings site Apartments.com, commercial property marketplace LoopNet, hotel data firm STR, and residential portal Homes.com.
Source: Reuters.com