SEATTLE and NEW YORK, Feb. 3,
2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Zillow® Group (NASDAQ: Z and ZG), which
houses a portfolio of the largest and most vibrant real estate and
home-related brands on mobile and Web, today announced it has
entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Naked Apartments®,
New York City's largest
rentals-only platform, for $13
million in cash. The transaction is subject to satisfaction
of customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the
next few weeks.
Naked Apartments will become Zillow Group's fifth consumer
brand, and the second in Zillow Group's New York City portfolio, alongside
StreetEasy®. This acquisition reinforces Zillow Group's commitment
to providing buyers, sellers, renters and real estate professionals
with New York City-centric tools
and information that make their lives easier.
Naked Apartments is dedicated to simplifying the rental process
for renters, brokers and landlords in New
York City, where nearly 70 percent of the population rents
their home. The company's comprehensive database of for-rent
listings across the five boroughs is bolstered by unique tools on
Web and mobile that provide timesaving ways for renters to find
apartments and connect with real estate professionals. For example,
Naked Apartments' first-of-its-kind "Viewings on Demand" tool
allows renters to instantly schedule apartment viewings – a crucial
function in the fast-paced world of New
York City rentals.
In addition to listings and renter tools, Naked Apartments
provides various free and paid marketing and business management
services for NYC real estate professionals.
Being part of Zillow Group will give Naked Apartments the
resources to further invest in product development and grow its
audience, while extending Zillow Group's hyper-local market
leadership in one of the largest and most important real estate
markets in the world.
"Naked Apartments is a natural strategic fit with StreetEasy and
Zillow Group in New York. We all
share the common goal of using data, tools and technology to bring
transparency and ease to New York
City's complex real estate landscape," said Susan Daimler,
StreetEasy general manager and vice president of Zillow Group New
York. "Naked Apartments is a strong brand that is pushing the
innovation boundaries to help renters find a home quickly and
easily, which complements our mission at StreetEasy. Continuing to
grow both brands under one roof will allow us to combine our
knowledge of the unique New York
City rental and sales markets to put even better tools and
information in the hands of consumers. We couldn't be more excited
to welcome the enormously talented Naked Apartments team on
board."
"Major markets require a truly localized product and no other
site is more focused on New York
rentals than Naked Apartments. StreetEasy shares this laser-focused
vision for New York City real
estate, and shares a commitment to both transparency and innovation
– values that are integral to our company," said Joe Charat, CEO of Naked Apartments. "We've
always admired the StreetEasy team and the growth they've realized
since joining Zillow Group and we're excited to now be joining
forces with them. This move will give us the resources to innovate
faster, to grow and expand our business, and to better serve our
users."
Naked Apartments launched in 2010 and has 13 employees. The
company is led by CEO Joe Charat and
CTO Jay Signorello. Post-close, Joe
will continue to lead the company as General Manager of Naked
Apartments, and Jay will remain the CTO.
About Zillow Group
Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z and ZG)
houses a portfolio of the largest real estate and home-related
brands on the Web and mobile. The company's brands focus on all
stages of the home lifecycle: renting, buying, selling, financing
and home improvement. Zillow Group is committed to empowering
consumers with unparalleled data, inspiration and knowledge around
homes, and connecting them with the right local professionals to
help. The Zillow Group portfolio of consumer brands includes real
estate and rental marketplaces Zillow®, Trulia®, StreetEasy® and
HotPads®. In addition, Zillow Group works with tens of thousands of
real estate agents, lenders and rental professionals, helping
maximize business opportunities and connect to millions of
consumers. The company operates a number of business brands for
real estate, rental and mortgage professionals, including Mortech®,
Diverse Solutions®, dotloop® and Retsly®. The company is
headquartered in Seattle.
Zillow, Mortech, Diverse Solutions, StreetEasy, Retsly and
HotPads are registered trademarks of Zillow, Inc. Trulia is a
registered mark of Trulia, LLC, dotloop is a registered trademark
of dotloop, LLC.
Naked Apartments is a registered trademark of Naked Apartments,
Inc.
About Naked Apartments
Naked Apartments, New York City's largest rentals-only platform,
provides innovative, easy-to-use tools and quality listings so
renters can simply and quickly find their apartment, and makes it
easier for brokers and landlords to connect with renters to fill
available apartments faster. Listings on Naked Apartments are
enhanced with subway information, market data and agent
reviews, and duplicate listings from multiple agents are grouped
together to easily compare agents, photos and descriptions. In
addition, Naked Apartments works with thousands of local real
estate professionals, providing them with various marketing and
business management services that help them connect with
renters.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release
contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section
27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 that involve risks and uncertainties,
including, without limitation, statements regarding Zillow Group's
proposed acquisition of Naked Apartments and the expected benefits
of the transaction; the way in which the transaction will impact
consumers; the expected investment of resources for product
development and growth in audience; and our ability to extend our
hyper-local market leadership in New York
City. Statements containing words such as "may," "believe,"
"anticipate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "project," "will,"
"projections," "estimate," or similar expressions constitute
forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are
subject to significant risks and uncertainties and actual results
may differ materially from the results anticipated in the
forward-looking statements. Factors that may contribute to such
differences include, but are not limited to, the risk that the
businesses may not be combined successfully; and the possibility
that the transaction will not close. The foregoing list of risks
and uncertainties is illustrative, but is not exhaustive.
Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially
from those anticipated in forward-looking statements can be found
under the caption "Risk Factors" described in Zillow Group, Inc.'s
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended
June 30, 2015 filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and in Zillow Group's
other filings with the SEC. Except as may be required by law,
Zillow Group does not intend, and undertakes no duty, to update
this information to reflect future events or circumstances.
(ZFIN)
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SOURCE Zillow Group