After a nearly one-year-long acquisition battle, CoreLogic is finally in the hands of Stone Point Capital and Insight Partners, according to an announcement on Friday. The company was acquired for $5.9 billion ($80 x 74 million shares) and has stopped trading on Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange (CLGX).
Frank Martell | Photo credit: CoreLogic
“Today marks a major milestone in CoreLogic’s history as we move to capture the many opportunities in front of us to accelerate our growth and transformation as a privately held firm,” CoreLogic President and CEO Frank Martell said in a statement. “The entire team is excited and looking forward to working closely with Stone Point and Insight Partners to build on our record financial and operating performance and deliver solutions that help millions of people find, buy, and protect their homes each year.”
The battle over CoreLogic began in July 2020, when Senator Investment Group LP and Cannae Holdings Inc. offered to purchase the real estate data firm for $4.81 billion ($65 x 74 million shares). The firms said their offer reflected the fact they already owned 15 percent of the company’s outstanding common stock, according to a previous Inman article.
“CoreLogic’s Board of Directors unanimously concluded that the unsolicited proposal significantly undervalues the company, raises serious regulatory concerns, and is not in the best interests of its shareholders,” the company told Inman in July.
After Senator Investment Group and Cannae Holdings stepped aside, CoStar Group and Warburg Pincus threw their hats into the ring. Warburg Pincus never publicly disclosed its offer; however, CoStar Group offered the highest price per share ($95.76) for a total of $7 billion. Just as CoStar thought they had sealed the deal, CoreLogic accepted Stone Point Capital and Insight Partners’ $6 billion 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, 2021,” CoStar Group CEO Andy Florance said in February. “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,” he added.
In March, CoStar Group made another attempt to acquire CoreLogic, this time for $7.45 billion. However, CoreLogic said the offer wasn’t enough for them to push Stone Point and Insight Partners to the side.
“The CoreLogic Board unanimously believes your Updated Proposal requires further improvement with respect to the following key areas: (i) value, (ii) certainty of value, and (iii) certainty of closing in a timely manner,” Martell said. “We continue to believe that there is strategic potential in the combination of our two businesses and we request that you reconsider your positions on these important terms.”
After reviewing CoreLogic’s proposal demands, CoStar Group withdrew its bid while citing volatility in the residential mortgage market. “With interest rates moving up, now is not the time for us to aggressively buy into the residential mortgage market,” Florance explained. “We wish to congratulate Stone Point and Insight Partners on their successful bid to acquire CoreLogic.”
Now that the acquisition is complete, Stone Point Capital CEO Chuck Davis said his firm and Insight Partners are focused on improving CoreLogic’s value proposition.
“Stone Point is thrilled to work with the CoreLogic leadership team to support the Company’s next phase of growth,” Davis said in a prepared statement. “CoreLogic is a mission-critical vendor and data provider across industry sectors in which Stone Point has specialized over the past 20 years, including mortgage, residential real estate and P&C insurance.”
“We believe our financial services domain expertise and our partnership with the management team can accelerate CoreLogic’s momentum as it delivers new innovative solutions to its customers,” he added.
