CoStar Group announced it has agreed to acquire RentPath’s business for $588 million in cash, following RentPath’s recently announced Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.
RentPath performs digital marking services for rental properties through a number of internet listing services, including Rent.com, ApartmentGuide.com, Rentals.com, and Lovely.com. These sites advertise approximately 28,000 properties and have generated over 21 million monthly visits and almost 9 million unique monthly visitors in 2019.
“RentPath has a 30-year track record of outstanding service to the multifamily industry, developing thousands of meaningful customer relationships,” says Andrew C. Florance, founder and CEO of CoStar Group. “… Following restructuring in bankruptcy, CoStar Group expects the combined companies to benefit from synergies and plans to invest in building RentPath’s online brands and traffic to provide improved quantity and quality of lead flow to advertising clients. The Apartments.com network of sites generated 842 million visits last year, and we intend to use this valuable audience to generate leads for RentPath clients as well.”
RentPath’s unaudited financials reflect approximately $227 million in revenue, with an adjusted EBITDA of approximately $47 million. Total revenue fell 9% from 2018, and adjusted EBITDA fell 24% over the same period. The transaction’s closing is subject to approval by the bankruptcy court and regulatory approval, among other conditions.
“We are very excited to be joining CoStar as part of the Apartments.com network,” says Marc Lefar, CEO of RentPath. “Our customers have an ever increasing number of choices when considering where to spend their marketing dollars. With CoStar’s commitment to invest in the RentPath family of sites, we will be in a position to offer our customers the best options to reach potential renters.”
