Chanticleer

The M&A battle for the heart of the housing market

CoStar’s bid for Domain has the backing of Nine Entertainment shareholders. But selling the family jewels comes with big consequences.

Feb 21, 2025 – 12.24pm

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There’s nothing quite as much fun as M&A in the media sector. And the $2.7 billion bid for property classified group Domain by $50 billion US giant CoStar is the corporate equivalent of an episode of Married At First Sight.

Domain is the ugly duckling who just can’t compete with its bigger, stronger, more attractive rival – the undisputed king of Australian property classifieds, the News Corp-backed REA Group.

James Thomson is senior Chanticleer columnist based in Melbourne. He was the Companies editor and editor of BRW Magazine.