(Reuters) -Australian real estate firm REA Group said on Monday it is considering acquiring London-listed peer Rightmove via a possible cash and share offer.
REA Group, majority-owned by News Corp, said it had not yet approached or had any discussions with Rightmove on a potential offer.
Rightmove, Britain’s largest property portal, had a market value of 4.36 billion pounds ($5.73 billion), as of Friday’s close.
Shares of Melbourne-headquartered REA Group, in which the Murdoch family owns more than 61%, fell as much as 5.9% to A$206.01 by 0053 GMT.
Rightmove did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment.
“There can be no certainty that an offer will be made,” the Australian company said in a statement.
REA Group now has to either lodge a firm bid for Rightmove or back out by Sept. 30, according to the U.K.’s takeovers rule.
($1 = 0.7613 pounds)
(Reporting by Aaditya Govind Rao in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
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