Growing an already respectable portfolio
Primedia is the parent company of print magazines Apartment Guide and New Home Guide, and to Rentals.com, ApartmentGuide.com, RentalHouses.com, NewHomeGuide.com and their distributor, DistribuTech. Now, Primedia has strengthened their portfolio of companies with their acquisition of Rent.com from eBay for an undisclosed amount.
“Rent.com has a strong reputation, brand awareness, history and URL,” said Charles Stubbs, PRIMEDIA President and Chief Executive Officer, who will lead the combined company. “Both Rent.com and PRIMEDIA have long track records of delivering a high-quality consumer and client experience in the marketplace.”
Stubbs continued, “The combination of our two companies will allow us to deliver a broader range of innovative products and services to our clients and more quickly expand our markets and market segments. We look forward to working with the Rent.com team that has built this great brand.”
Closing expected next quarter
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter and is subject to customary closing conditions. The company said in a statement that their sites and mobile applications “will be complemented by Rent.com’s successful pay-for-performance business model.”
“We are excited to be joining PRIMEDIA, a leading vertical search company in the apartment and rental housing sector,” said Bill McKnight, Rent.com General Manager. “Rent.com fits in nicely with PRIMEDIA’s mission of being the go-to resource to help people find the perfect place to live.”
This particular acquisition is a major win for the Primedia portfolio as Rent.com is one of the most desirable real estate URLs in the world – it will be interesting to see what innovations they bring to the table (or vice versa).
This will not be the last company swap you’ll see in 2012 as the industry shuffles the deck in light of a shifting housing market. Rents are going up, vacancies are going down, and real estate professionals once focused on sales are learning (or re-learning) the rental market for locating and property management purposes.
