Compass completes its acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate
Robert Reffkin said the deal brings the “most respected brands and professionals together on a single, modern technology platform” to better serve clients.
Key points:
- The transaction formally closed early Friday, January 9.
- Anywhere is merged as a subsidiary under the new parent company Compass International Holdings, with Robert Reffkin as chairman and CEO.
- Compass’ share price was up 10% at the start of trading Friday morning.
Compass has officially closed on its previously announced all-stock acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate, completing a major consolidation in the residential real estate brokerage and franchising landscape.
According to a 177-page SEC filing which details the technical nuts and bolts of the transaction, the deal closed early Jan. 9 with Anywhere surviving as "a wholly-owned subsidiary of Compass," the filing stated.
The combined business — which Compass described as the world's largest residential brokerage by size and scale — will operate under the name Compass International Holdings, led by Compass Founder and CEO Robert Reffkin, who will serve as chairman and CEO of the post-merger company.
"Our collective vision is to become the best in the world at empowering real estate professionals with everything they need to realize their entrepreneurial potential," Reffkin said in a blog post addressed to real estate agents and a press announcement that was included in the 8-K filing.
"What makes this moment unique is not a transaction that combines two companies — it's that the industry's most respected brands and professionals are coming together on a single, modern technology platform that will help them save time, grow their business, and better serve their clients."
Compass framed the closing as the start of a "new chapter," positioning the combination as a bid to unite major real estate brands and talent on a single platform aimed at boosting productivity for agents, franchise affiliates and broker-owners.
The closing materials did not outline immediate changes to Anywhere's brands or provide details on leadership transitions impacting Anywhere executives beyond confirming that Reffkin will lead the combined company.
However, in Reffkin's post to agents, he did reaffirm Compass' commitment to "preserve" the different franchise brands under the Anywhere umbrella and also touched on the use of client data.
"Our affiliates will continue to have the same independence they've always had and will remain fully in charge of how they run their businesses. Affiliates will continue to determine their own data policies," he wrote, adding that Compass will never contact its franchise affiliates' clients directly and that each agent's "data belongs to them."
As far as a potential implementation or push for private listings from Anywhere brands, Reffkin said that "sellers will always have the freedom to choose how their listings are marketed and sold" and added that Compass will implement "no mandates or policies" requiring that anyone opt in to its signature Private Exclusives initiative.
Compass' stock price was up 10% Friday morning, trading at $13.48 per share.
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