Compass Denies Report Of Private Equity Takeover
Compass Inc. denied a report earlier this week that stated the company is the target of a potential takeover from Vista Equity Partners.
“Compass has not been contacted by any private equity firms expressing interest in taking the company private,” a spokesperson for Compass told The Real Deal. “There have been no talks with private equity firms on this matter.”
Insider on Wednesday reported news of the possible takeover bid.
Compass Inc. is a real estate technology company that provides an online brokerage platform. It was initially founded in 2012 as Urban Compass by Ori Allon, Robert Reffkin and Avi Dorfman.
Insider reported that Vista was exploring the option to take Compass private, quoting three anonymous sources, also suggesting that another private equity firm might be involved in the deal.
Since news of the potential takeover, stock for Compass jumped 18%, according to Seeking Alpha. Since Compass' IPO in March 2021, share prices have dropped 86%.
Market consolidation by way of mergers and acquisitions among traditional brokerages has skyrocketed in the past decade, with notable mega-merger deals such as JLL's $2B acquisition of HFF in 2019, and DTZ’s $2B merger with Cushman & Wakefield in 2015.
