CoreLogic Gets New Bidder at $95.76 Shr

Irvine-based CoreLogic Inc. (NYSE: CLGX), the real estate data provider that recently agreed to sell itself, may find itself in another battle after a $6.9 billion bid by CoStar Group Inc.
CoreLogic, which last year fought off a proxy battle where activist investors offered $66 a share, on Feb. 4 announced it had accepted an $80 a share offer from Stone Point Capital and Insight Partners.
CoStar’s proposed bid is $95.76 a share, or a 16% premium over Friday’s closing price. CoreLogic shares climbed 7.9% to $88.46 and a $6.5 billion market cap, indicating some skepticism about the proposed bid.
“Given our substantial engagement since early December, we were stunned to read about the acquisition of CoreLogic by Stone Point Capital and Insight Partners on February 4,” said a letter from CoStar Chief Executive Andrew Florance. “Their cash bid of $80 per share was materially less than our last all-stock offer, which had a headline value of $86.30 per share. The decision to accept the lower $80 per share bid from a sponsor instead indicates a failure to appropriately value the synergies of our proposal as a strategic bidder.”
CoStar said it “immediately” wants to talk with CoreLogic directors and advisers.
The deal would combine CoreLogic, one of the largest residential real-estate data companies, with CoStar, among the biggest providers of commercial real-estate information and analytics.
Shares of Washington D.C.-based CoStar (Nasdaq: CSGP) dropped 4.1% to $900.34 and a $35.5 billion market cap.