(Bloomberg) -- REA Group Ltd. is considering seeking a multibillion-dollar bridge loan to support a potential takeover of UK property portal Rightmove Plc, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Australian real estate listings provider, part of Rupert Murdoch’s empire, has been holding discussions with firms including Bank of America Corp. and Deutsche Bank AG about helping arrange a loan, the people said. Banks could offer a total of $5 billion or more if needed, though REA is likely to borrow less than that and hasn’t made a final decision on the eventual size of the loan, the people said.
Other banks could also join the financing, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Deliberations are ongoing and details of the loan could change.
Representatives for Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, REA and Rightmove declined to comment.
Rightmove has rejected a £5.6 billion ($7.3 billion) takeover proposal from REA, saying the bid undervalued the company and its future prospects. REA submitted a preliminary cash-and-stock offer on Sept. 5, valuing each Rightmove share at 705 pence, according to a statement confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg News.
Shares of Rightmove gained as much as 1.5% in Thursday trading and were up 0.8% to 675.60 pence at 11:52 a.m. in London.
London-based Rightmove is being advised by UBS Group AG and Morgan Stanley, while REA is working with Deutsche Bank.
--With assistance from Aaron Kirchfeld and Pamela Barbaglia.
(Updates with further details of discussions in first two paragraphs, adds share move in sixth paragraph.)
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