Today the REA Group (realestate.com.au Ltd (ASX:REA), and its
subsidiary companies) announced the signing of its third European
acquisition in 14 months, the atHome group of real estate sites for
EUR 4.5 million (AU$7.5 million).
atHome operates five real estate sites covering Luxembourg
(residential and commercial sites), the Wallonie region of Belgium,
the Lorraine region of France, and the Trier region of Germany. Over
500 agents use the sites; the business is profitable and is rapidly
growing.
"The acquisition of the atHome group of sites continues to build
out our European operations by providing the REA Group with a presence
in four new markets," said Simon Baker, Managing Director of the REA
Group. "The high quality of the local management team is an attractive
element of this acquisition."
Key components of the acquisition include:
-- atHome.lu: The largest real estate website (traffic measured
by CIM) in Luxembourg and one of that country's 10 top
websites of any category by traffic.
-- atOffice.lu: A real estate portal for Luxembourg's commercial
real estate market.
-- atHome.be: Launched in September 2005, this site is the second
most popular site in the south of Belgium, which borders
Luxembourg.
-- atHomeLorraine.fr: Launched in October 2004, this is the
leading real estate website for the North Lorraine region of
France, which borders Luxembourg.
-- atHome54.de: Launched in April 2006, this site targets the
area around Trier, Germany, from whose postal code it derives
the 54 in its name.
-- 51% equity stake in Altowin, a leading provider of office
management tools for real estate agents in the Belgium market.
In addition, atHome also partners with RTL (Radio Television
Luxembourg) to provide real estate television and radio programming in
Luxembourg.
About the REA Group
realestate.com.au Ltd. (ASX:REA) and its subsidiary companies,
known as the REA Group, make up a global online real estate
advertising company head quartered in Melbourne, Australia. The
company operates realestate.com.au, realcommercial.com.au and
propertylook.com.au (Australia); propertyfinder.com and London
Property News (UK); and allrealestate.co.nz, realcommercial.co.nz and
propertylook.co.nz (New Zealand).
