Zoopla is a privately-owned company which has venture capital interests as its largest shareholders. Under the proposed merger, A&N Media will retain a 55% interest in the newly merged entity.
In a market that has had a single dominant player in Rightmove for many years, this will create a viable and effective alternative for estate agents and housebuilders across the UK. For consumers, the combination will provide significantly greater coverage of property listings and enhanced features to help make better-informed decisions in the UK residential property market.
The parties have informed the Office of Fair Trading of their intention to merge these companies.
Martin Morgan (pictured), Chief Executive of DMGT said: "This merger will create a genuine opportunity to challenge the dominant market leader in the online property sector. We believe that the combination of our respective digital property assets will benefit both consumers and clients."