National homebuying brokerage Redfin will buy Atlanta-based RentPath, which focuses on rentals, in a deal worth $608 million, the two companies announced Friday.
Seattle-based Redfin, which has annual revenues of about $875 million, will pay cash for $194 million-a-year RentPath.
In a statement, Glenn Kelman, Redfin’s chief executive, said Redfin plans to meld listings of both companies by late next year. That would dramatically expand Redfin’s reach since more than one-third of adults currently rent, he said.
Redfin thinks that roughly 10 million of the more than 40 million visitors to its website each month might also be interested in renting.
Redfin has 4,000 workers, including about 65 employees in metro Atlanta.
RentPath has about half of its 700 employees in metro Atlanta. A Redfin spokeswoman said there are no plans to move those employees.
RentPath last year had reached a $588 million agreement to sell itself to the Co-Star Group, but that fell through in December when regulators balked. The Federal Trade Commission moved to block the deal because both companies were essentially in the same market, that is, rentals.
This deal too needs FTC sign-off, a Redfin spokeswoman said. Because RentPath has been in the midst of a court-approved restructuring, the acquisition will also need the assent of a bankruptcy court.
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