Deal Timeline

Plotted by close date where disclosed, otherwise announcement. Select any marker to jump to the deal entry.

The Acquisition Playbook.

Three patterns run through News's acquisitions — what it looks for, how it pays, and how it folds in what it buys.

01
Acquisition criteria
Building Dow Jones into a global B2B professional-information platform through a...
Building Dow Jones into a global B2B professional-information platform through acquisitions of specialist pricing, news and analytics assets: Investor's Business Daily (2021), OPIS energy pricing (2022, $1.15B) and Base Chemicals/CMA (2022).
StoryfulHarlequin Enterprises LimitedMove, Inc. (realtor.com)Checkout 51 Mobile Apps ULCUnruly Holdings Limited
02
Capital deployment
Scaling the Digital Real Estate Services segment around realtor.
com (Move) and REA Group via bolt-ons across the U.S. (Opcity, Avail, UpNest), Australia (Flatmates, Hometrack, Smartline, Mortgage Choice), Southeast Asia (iProperty) and India (REA India/Elara).
StoryfulHarlequin Enterprises LimitedMove, Inc. (realtor.com)Checkout 51 Mobile Apps ULCUnruly Holdings Limited
03
Integration approach
Strengthening the core publishing and news franchises through content and media ...
Strengthening the core publishing and news franchises through content and media deals: Harlequin and HMH Books & Media for HarperCollins, and Wireless Group (talkSPORT) plus Australian Regional Media for the news and radio businesses.
StoryfulHarlequin Enterprises LimitedMove, Inc. (realtor.com)Checkout 51 Mobile Apps ULCUnruly Holdings Limited

The Full Deal Book

21 acquisitions — each with the deal value, financing structure, target revenue, and executive commentary where disclosed.

01 Storyful $25M
Disclosed in 8-K

Acquired the social news agency (US$19 million cash plus a contingent earn-out) to strengthen News Corp's video and verified user-generated content capabilities across its News and Information Services segment.

The Storyful acquisition complements the Company's existing video capabilities, including the creation and distribution of original and on-demand programming such as WSJ Live and BallBall.
02 Harlequin Enterprises Limited $414M
Disclosed in 8-K

HarperCollins bought the women's fiction publisher from Torstar Corporation, extending its global book-publishing platform particularly across Europe and Asia Pacific. US$414 million (net of cash acquired).

Harlequin is a leading publisher of women's fiction and extends HarperCollins' global platform, particularly in Europe and Asia Pacific.
03 Move, Inc. (realtor.com) $952M
Disclosed in 8-K

Acquired all outstanding shares of the operator of realtor.com for $21.00 per share, expanding News Corp's digital real estate services into the U.S.; REA Group took a 20% interest at closing. US$952 million total transaction value (US$21.00/share).

Move is a leading provider of online real estate services, and the acquisition expanded the Company's digital real estate services business into the U.S., one of the largest real estate markets.
04 Checkout 51 Mobile Apps ULC $23M
Disclosed in 8-K

Data-driven digital incentives company that gave News America Marketing a receipt-recognition mobile app for delivering personalized packaged-goods marketing campaigns. ~US$23 million (US$13M cash + US$10M deferred).

05 Unruly Holdings Limited $60M
Announced Sep 2015 Closed Sep 2015

Acquired the global video-advertising distribution platform to deliver branded video advertising across websites and mobile devices within News and Information Services. ~GBP60 million (~US$90 million) cash, plus up to ~US$86M contingent.

Unruly is a leading global video distribution platform that is focused on delivering branded video advertising across websites and mobile devices.
06 DIAKRIT International Limited $40M
Disclosed in 8-K

Acquired a 92% interest in the 3D-visualization and digital-sales technology provider to bolster the Digital Real Estate Services segment's product tools for property marketing. ~US$40 million (92% interest).

07 iProperty Group Limited (REA Group) $482M
Disclosed in 8-K

REA Group lifted its stake from 22.7% to ~86.9%, extending its market-leading Australian property portal business into fast-growing Southeast Asian markets. ~A$482 million (~US$340 million) cash.

The acquisition of iProperty extends REA Group's market leading business in Australia to attractive markets throughout Southeast Asia.
08 Flatmates.com.au Pty Ltd (REA Group) $19M
Disclosed in 8-K

REA Group acquired Australia's market-leading share-accommodation listing site, extending its reach into the growing shared-accommodation category. US$19 million cash (plus up to US$15M contingent).

09 Wireless Group plc (talkSPORT) $220M
Disclosed in 8-K

Acquired the operator of talkSPORT and a portfolio of U.K./Ireland radio stations at 315 pence per share, broadening News Corp's U.K. media services and aligning with The Sun and The Times. ~GBP220 million (~US$285 million) equity; US$308 million total transaction value.

Wireless Group operates talkSPORT, the leading sports radio network in the U.K., and a portfolio of radio stations in the U.K. and Ireland.
10 Australian Regional Media (ARM) $30M
Disclosed in 8-K

Acquired a portfolio of regional print titles and websites from HT&E Limited, extending News Corp Australia's newspaper reach into new geographic regions.

11 Smartline Home Loans Pty Limited (REA Group) $70M
Disclosed in 8-K

REA Group acquired an 80.3% interest in one of Australia's premier mortgage-broking franchise groups, adding scale to its financial-services business. ~A$70 million (~US$55 million) for 80.3% interest.

Smartline is one of Australia's premier mortgage broking franchise groups, and the acquisition provides REA Group's financial services business with greater scale and capability.
12 Hometrack Australia Pty Ltd (REA Group) $130M
Disclosed in 8-K

REA Group acquired the property-data services provider serving the financial sector, allowing it to deliver richer property data and insights to customers. ~A$130 million (~US$100 million).

13 Opcity $210M
Disclosed in 8-K

Acquired the real-estate technology platform (a Move subsidiary) that matches home buyers and sellers with agents in real time, broadening realtor.com's lead-generation portfolio. ~US$210 million total transaction value.

Opcity, a market-leading real estate technology platform that matches qualified home buyers and sellers with real estate professionals in real time.
14 Rentalutions, Inc. (Avail) $36M
Disclosed in 8-K

Acquired the DIY-landlord and tenant platform to help realtor.com expand into the rentals space and grow its audience of landlords and renters. ~US$36 million initial cash (net of cash), plus up to US$8M contingent.

15 Elara Technologies Pte. Ltd. (REA India) $138M
Disclosed in 8-K

News Corp and REA Group acquired a controlling interest in the operator of Housing.com, Makaan.com and PropTiger, positioning REA at the forefront of India's real-estate digitization. US$138 million total purchase price (controlling interest).

The acquisition of REA India allows REA Group to be at the forefront of long-term growth opportunities within India and the digitization of the real estate sector.
16 Investor's Business Daily (IBD) $275M
Disclosed in 8-K

Dow Jones acquired the digital-first financial news and research business (Investors.com), adding proprietary investing data and tools for professional and retail investors. US$275 million cash.

The acquisition expands Dow Jones's offerings with the addition of proprietary data and tools to help professional and retail investors identify top-performing stocks.
17 HMH Books & Media (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) $349M
Disclosed in 8-K

HarperCollins acquired the Books & Media segment of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, adding a deep backlist of children's, young adult and reference titles plus a productions business. US$349 million cash.

18 Mortgage Choice Limited (REA Group) $244M
Announced Jun 2021 Closed Jun 2021

REA Group acquired the leading Australian mortgage-broking business, complementing its Smartline footprint and accelerating its financial-services strategy at national scale. ~A$244 million (~US$183 million) cash.

19 Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) $1.15B
Disclosed in 8-K

Dow Jones acquired the energy pricing, news and analytics business from S&P Global and IHS Markit, making it a leading provider of energy and renewables information. US$1.15 billion cash.

The acquisition enables Dow Jones to become a leading provider of energy and renewables information and furthers its goal of building the leading global business news and information platform for professionals.
20 Base Chemicals / Chemical Market Analytics (CMA) $295M
Disclosed in 8-K

Dow Jones acquired the base-chemicals pricing, insights and forecasting business from S&P Global, extending its professional-information platform into chemicals markets. US$295 million cash.

The acquisition enables Dow Jones to become a leading provider of base chemicals information and furthers its goal of building the leading global business news and information platform for professionals.
21 UpNest, Inc. $45M
Disclosed in 8-K

Move/realtor.com acquired the real-estate agent marketplace that matches sellers and buyers with local agents who compete for their business, expanding seller and listing-agent services. ~US$45 million closing cash (plus up to US$15M contingent).

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