Friday, December 17, 2004
eBay Acquires Rent.com For $415M
Online auction giant eBay announced late last night that it is acquiring Santa Monica-based Rent.com for $415M plus acquisition costs. eBay said that it will allow eBay to expand into a new segment of the online real estate market, and provide resources and expertise for Rent.com to scale its Internet listings for the apartment and rental housing industry. Rent.com is the most visited apartment listing website in the nation, and gains revenue through success fees paid by apartment owners when leases are signed. According to the companies, Rent.com had over $40M in revenue last year. The deal will be a combination of cash and stock, with eBay paying $385M in eBay common stock and $30M cash. Rent.com is backed by Allegis Capital, Bank of America Venture Partners, Insignia Financial, Kline Hawkes, Rosewood Capital, and Thomas Weisel Partners; Rent.com was advised in the transaction by Montgomery & Co, UBS and Bank of America Securities. The company was originally founded as Viva.com.