evaluation of zillow - trulia merger - the economist€¦ · evaluation of zillow - trulia merger...

Evaluation of Zillow - Trulia Merger

Sydney Business School

University of Wollongong

Participants:

Devika Chandramohan

Kaustav Chatterjee

Sebastian Isbanner

08 Fall

Sydney Business School Page | 2

Table of Contents

1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 3

2 Which company is getting the better deal and why?................................................. 4

3 Structure of the deal .................................................................................................. 6

4 Future on a standalone basis ...................................................................................... 9

5 Assumptions about future ........................................................................................ 12

6 Trade recommendations .......................................................................................... 14

7 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 17

8 References: .............................................................................................................. 18

9 Appendix ................................................................................................................. 23


1 Introduction

“2 + 2 = 5”, right? The typical rationale representing synergy, as the whole is worth more than the

sum of the parts. Online real estate market leader Zillow expects substantial benefits from its $3.5

billion acquisition of its major competitor Trulia. In the past, both companies have invested

significantly into R&D in order to differentiate themselves from each other. Now, due to this

merger, it is anticipated to address a much larger customer base and nurture from a wide range of

benefits while keeping both businesses operating separately.

Based on a set of questions and key variables, this report pursues to evaluate Zillow’s acquisition of

Trulia. At first, it will be examined which company is getting the better deal and why. Secondly, the

structure of the deal and its impact on both shareholders and customers are analysed. In case the deal

fails due to a FTC investigation, a potential future outlook for each company on a standalone basis is

provided in the next section. Based on the companies’ present combined market valuations,

assumptions about their future to buy stock in the combined company are given. Ultimately, this

report ends with examining if any trades can be recommended around this transaction.


2 Which company is getting the better deal and why?

On 28 July 2014, Zillow announced a $3.5 billion deal to acquire Trulia (67% of shares belonging to

Zillow; 33% to Trulia)1, with the merger representing 61% of the online real estate advertising

market, and laid the foundation for a strong competitive advantage for Zillow. After a history of

several acquisitions, this $3.5 billion deal represents by far the biggest acquisition by Zillow. The

deal is expected to accelerate innovation, broaden distribution, enhance value and ROI for

advertisers, provide greater access to Free Real Estate Market Data, and provide annual corporate

cost savings of around $100 million from 2016 (Securities and Exchange Commission 2014a,

2014b).

As both company’s financials suggest, intense R&D investments in the past in order to differentiate

itself from each other will lead to strong synergetic effects. Thus, both companies should be able to

capitalize from the fact that these differentiation efforts are now combined under the umbrella of one

company. Especially, the combined expertise gained from these differentiation efforts can create a

long-term competitive advantage as innovation efforts could be accelerated.

However, it is difficult to assess which company is better off since different scenarios as well as the

future outlook of the industry needs to be taken into account. On the one hand, the deal itself could

be considered to be in favour of Zillow, as it has acquired its major competitor, gained a larger

market share and received the majority of shares and therefore, owns Trulia. Zillow can exert

influence on Trulia’s entire business and only two Trulia directors (including Trulia’s CEO) will be

assigned to the board of directors. Also, Zillow can take advantage from the recently acquired

software provider “Market Leader” by Trulia, which adds another feature to their portfolio and

1 Although Trulia currently retains its business model, and trades separately from Zillow


strengthens its competitive advantage. From Trulia’s perspective, Trulia has given up its challenger

position in the market, its market share and ultimately, its autonomy. Its expertise and gained

competitive advantages from the past have become transparent to Zillow.

Notwithstanding, on the other hand, this deal could also represent a “do-or-die” deal for Trulia and

that it is better off to merge with Zillow. Trulia has generated increasing negative operating income

from 2010 to 2013 and its “Market Leader” acquisition in 2013 has enlarged its long-term debt

significantly. Resulting from that, a negative net operating cash flow in 2013 was posted. Given

these circumstances, Trulia might be better off to merge with Zillow as this means to ultimately

survive in the marketplace. This assumption may be corroborated by the recent News Corp.

acquisition of Move, Inc. that will amplify the competition in the market. Although the deal itself is

not necessarily in favour of Trulia and Trulia had to give up its autonomy, one may conclude that

yet, Trulia is better off.

In summary, it is difficult to predict which company is better off with the deal as the future remains

uncertain. Both companies should be able to take advantage from their similar business models,

their larger customer base and synergetic effects, especially in terms of innovation to remain

competitive in the long run. However, it is with both companies in how far and when these synergies

will turn out into positive effects as an acquisition poses high administrative and structural

challenges. In particular, merging both companies’ cultures and creating cohesiveness among former

competitors will be key to its success.


3 Structure of the deal

According to Securities and Exchange Commission (2014a, p. 2), Trulia’s shareholders receive

0.444 shares of Zillow’s Class A Common Stock and the value of the deal denotes a premium of

25% to Trulia’s closing price on July 25, 2014. Current Class A and Class B Common Stock holders

of Zillow receives one comparable share of the combined company at closing. Trulia would own

approximately 33% and Zillow would own approximately 67%, of the combined company

(Securities and Exchange Commission 2014a, p. 2). The deal also includes Zillow having the option

of pulling out by paying a termination fee if the FTC proposes certain constraints on their business

such as a divestment of assets. Should this deal come to pass, the structure of the deal does make

sense for each company if the expected benefits can be realised.

In the following section the impact of the deal from the perspective of shareholders and customers is

examined. Table 1 summarizes the analysis:

Table 1: Impact on Shareholders and Customers

Stakeholder

Perspective

Zillow (Acquiring Entity) Trulia (Target Entity)

Shareholder

• Dilution of ownership

• Long term benefits

• Combined debt obligation

• 25% premium

Customer

• Negotiating power

• Lack of choice

• Benefit from synergy

• Negotiating power

• Lack of choice

• Benefit from synergy


When there is a stock-for-stock acquisition, the parent company’s equity is affected in proportion to

the shares issued (Balasubramaniam 2014). As a consequence of the stock-only deal and issuing

share in exchange of acquiring Trulia, the dilution of ownership represents a negative impact on

Zillow’s shareholders as the value of shares may decline. This can be accompanied by a diluted

EPS. Also, as Zillow is paying a premium of 25% to acquire Trulia, this could result in increased

dilution of its share value (The Motley Fool 2006). On the other hand, Zillow’s shareholders could

benefit in the long term due to the expected cost savings and larger market share, the combined

company is expecting to achieve.

Trulia’s shareholders would benefit from the annualized cost savings, which are expected to be

realized from the combined expertise of Zillow and Trulia. Since Trulia has been experiencing a

significant long-term debt after their acquisition of “Market Leader”, this deal would make them

better off (cf. Appendix 1). Apart from the synergistic advantages, Trulia would benefit all the more

from the deal, since the deal comprises a 25% premium on Trulia’s share (Securities and Exchange

Commission 2014a, p. 2). As to be seen Figure 1 Trulia is currently experiencing an increase in

their share price, and eventually market capitalization (cf. Appendix 2).

From the perspective of customers (primarily real estate agents), the deal could result in reduction of

negotiating power on the advertising price (Bushery 2014). Since the consolidation of Zillow and

Trulia is expected to enlarge and strengthen their leadership position in the online real estate market,

due to which customers might have to face an increased pricing power from the combined entity

(Levy 2014). Furthermore, due to the combination of two major players in the market, customers

might experience a lack of choice. For example, if a real estate agent was highly in favour of

Trulia’s business model and particularly chose to not do business with Zillow, might be alienated by

their merger. As a result, this customer might feel the urge to walk away from the combined

company.


Consumers, such as vendors and purchasers might have both positive and negative effects from the

deal. On the one hand, they are expected to benefit from the combined company through broadened

access to real estate market data and more accurate forecasts (Securities and Exchange Commission

2014a, p. 2). On the other hand, the merger might negatively affect the consumers since the real

estate agents could compensate their increased fees by passing them on to the buyers (Davidson

2014a).


4 Future on a standalone basis

There is a likelihood of the Zillow-Trulia merger deal to fail on account of Federal Trade

Commission’s (FTC) anti-trust laws (Kosman 2014). In other words, FTC could terminate the deal

if they feel that the deal reduces competition in the marketplace thus exposing customers to risks of

higher prices or reduced choices.

Zillow is primarily responsible to obtain clearances required to close the deal (Solomon 2014).

There is a high probability of the Zillow-Trulia deal to get the clearance from FTC because FTC

views online real-estate advertisements not in isolation but as part of the entire suite of advertising

media. The combined revenues of Zillow and Trulia in 2013 was $340.7 million which is around 4%

of the estimated $12 billion spent in average on real-estate advertising in the USA every year

(Zillow 2014c).

If the transactions fail to close, Trulia could lose market share and lose its position as the primary

competitor in the market. This is because, even if the deal fails to close, the conditions mentioned in

the deal would be in effect till January 28, 2016, which is a fairly long time range for online-based

businesses. In that time frame, Trulia is limited in its business operations by what it can do without

Zillow’s approval. For instance, Trulia can make no acquisitions, no capital expenditures or borrow

money (Securities and Exchange Commission 2014c, p. 37). Trulia also cannot employ anyone by

paying a salary of over $275,000, except to fill an empty position. These restrictions could severely

limit Trulia’s ability to maintain its competitive advantage and if it has to comeback as an

independent company after 18 months, it could find it very hard to recover and regain its market

position.


For Zillow, failure to close the deal would mean a direct payment of $150 million of termination fee

to Trulia (Securities and Exchange Commission 2014c, p. 54). Failure to close the merger deal

would also mean that the investments made by Zillow to integrate the Trulia into itself will have to

be written off as sunk costs. The other financial impact could be that Zillow’s shareholders who

have already paid a premium to acquire Trulia with a 25% premium on share prices would feel that

their wealth has been depleted. Apart from the financial impacts, if the merger fails, Zillow might

struggle to compete with Move Inc., another company operating in the online real estate domain.

This is because Move Inc. has recently been acquired by News Corp of Australia (Davidson 2014b),

an acquisition that promises to strengthen Move’s position in the coming future. Move’s USP is its

agreement with over 800 MLS’s (Multiple Listings Services) resulting in more accurate listings than

either Zillow or Trulia (Davidson 2014b). A strong financial backbone and focus on data accuracy

could make Move dethrone Zillow from the pinnacle position in online real estate.


5 Assumptions about future

Based on the combined market value of approximately $5.9 billion, as of 24 October 2014

(NASDAQ 2014a), the following key factors have to be taken into consideration in order to buy

stock in the combined company: micro- and macro environment, market and industry. Due to the

limited framework of this report, please find a detailed report on this in Appendix 4.

Microeconomically, the combined companies are subject to a wide range of risks that can have

significant impact on their business, operating results and financial health resulting in the fact that

prospects can be materially and adversely affected (Trulia 2014; Zillow 2014a). As the nature of

both businesses is equal, the combined company risk profile is the same. This means, that these

companies, due to their horizontal integration (Peirson et al. 2012) are not able to mitigate and offset

each other’s risk exposure.

Macroeconomically, based on the PWC report, the real estate industry seems to have a positive

outlook for 2015 and 2016. Executive compensation schemes and a history of acquisitions by Zillow

may lead to volatile share price movements. Thus, based on the given key factors and assumptions,

the combined company could face a positive and solid future.

Based on the combined market value, it may be possible that the market is still adjusting to the deal

as the share price of both companies show similar incremental decreasing patterns. As to be seen in

Figure 2, the post-announcement share price development resulted in a steady but smooth decline

for Trulia, whereas Zillow’s price adjustment takes a steeper drop.


As stated in Zillow’s quarterly report (Zillow 2014b) the two companies’ combined revenue

currently represents less than 4 percent of the estimated $12 billion that real estate professionals

spend on marketing their services to consumers each year. Following from that, a strong growth

potential exists for market participants.

Both Zillow and Trulia have implemented director’s share-based compensation schemes. Under

Zillow, this compensation plan is called “2011 Plan” and among others, includes equity awards and

incentive stock options to employees, directors et cetera (Zillow 2014b). Assuming that the overall

corporate objective is shareholder wealth maximisation, the combined company’s stakeholders such

as directors, the executive management and other employees could be encouraged to undertake

certain actions to influence the stock price. In this respect, these actions might not be in alignment

with the long-term strategy and opposed to that, focus short-term earnings (Windsor et al. 2010).

Thus, a compensation scheme that attempts to encourage certain employee behaviour according to

stock incentives can result in share price volatility, as provision and bonus payments are dependent

on the extent of a potential deviation.


6 Trade recommendations

In order to recommend trades around this transaction, some scenarios have been analysed. An

example of successful merger in the real estate industry was the acquisition of ZipRealty by

Realogy. Details on this acquisition are in Appendix 5. If Zillow-Trulia merger follows a similar

trend, shareholders would be better off by buying or holding on to Zillow’s shares.

An example of a failed merger is the merger between America Online and Time Warner in 2000

(Arango 2010). Details on this merger are in Appendix 5. There are similarities between this deal

and the Zillow-Trulia deal. These are:

The management of the new company would have more members from Zillow. The new

Board has only 2 members from Trulia.

Zillow would own two-thirds of the combined company.

Lack of synergy could be a concern. Possible structural and cultural integration issues.

If the Zillow-Trulia deal does not work out due to some unforeseen circumstances, the shareholders

could lose heavily. In that case, it would be advised to sell Zillow’s shares.

The analyses of Zillow’s past mergers (cf. Figure 3) show that, since 2011, Zillow has acquired

several companies. All these acquisitions show a common trend. Immediately after the acquisition,

there is a temporary drop in Zillow’s share price. However, in the long term, Zillow’s share prices

picked up and Zillow shareholders could make profits over the long run (Yahoo Finance 2014g).

Based on this scenario, it can be suggested that the shareholders should hold on to their shares.


Figure 3: Source: Adapted from Yahoo Finance 2014a

In order to consider other factors, horizontal mergers often do not result in higher revenues for the

merged entity. On the contrary, sometimes the revenue of the new entity is less than the sum of

individual firms’ revenue before merger. In the classic Cournot merger paradox (Salant, Switzer &

Reynolds 1983) the merging parties are often worse off after the merger while outsiders

(competitors/rivals) are better off.

There are two main reasons for which the Zillow-Trulia merger could actually reduce revenue and

increase risks. First of all, the merger could reduce the differentiation capabilities of the individual

firms. Customers who liked some feature of Trulia over Zillow may walk away now that Zillow and

Trulia have merged. Secondly, since both the companies operate in the same macroeconomic

environment, they are exposed to same risks.


So, if political or economic change reduces Zillow’s revenues, chances are that Trulia’s revenue

would also reduce since they operate in the same environment. None of the companies compensate

for each other’s limitations in the macro-environment.

A closer look at Zillow’s executives and manager’s actions with Zillow’s shares show an unusual

trend. According to data provided by Thomson Financial, these insiders have sold nearly 1.15

million shares over the past six months. For example, Zillow’s CEO Spencer Rascoff, sold 10,000

shares for $1 million on October 14 (Nichols 2014). This sell of shares by Rascoff and other

executives could suggest that Zillow’s insiders feel that the share price is be too high. This trend

suggests that the price of Zillow’s shares could be uncertain in future and shareholders should sell

the shares and book profits as soon as they can.

To conclude, it can be said that it is too early and too uncertain to suggest any trades around the

Zillow-Trulia merger. The examples of past mergers show that it would be prudent to wait for at

least a year before making any trades around this transaction.

The selling of shares by Zillow’s executives suggest that the ordinary shareholders should follow

suite but analysis of Zillow’s previous mergers suggest that Zillow’s share prices increase over the

long run after a merger.


7 Conclusion

The purpose of this paper was to review and analyse Zillow’s acquisition of Trulia. The analysis

undertaken was based on a set of questions and key variables.

Although Zillow’s merger history demonstrates a positive share price development the main results

identified are that it might still be too early and too uncertain to suggest any trades around the

Zillow-Trulia merger. Executive share-based incentives and a history of acquisitions by Zillow may

lead to further volatile share price movements. Also, in addition to the online real estate market’s

fast-moving nature there is still a growing concern of a real estate bubble. However, the real estate

industry itself seems to have a positive outlook for 2015 and 2016 as both labour force growth and

GDP are expected to increase. Due to the stock-only deal a dilution of ownership represents a

negative impact on Zillow’s shareholders as the value of shares could decline. As a result, this can

be accompanied by a diluted EPS. If the merger deal fails to close, Trulia could lose market share

and lose its position as the primary competitor in the market as it has given up its competitive

advantage and expertise to its major competitor. Apart from the financial impacts such as the

termination fee and the 25% premium paid, Zillow will face Move, Inc. as a serious competitor on a

standalone basis. The combined company should be able to capitalize from its larger customer base

and synergetic effects, especially in terms of innovation to remain competitive in the long run.

However, it is with both companies in how far and when these synergies will turn out into positive

effects. Merging both companies’ cultures and creating cohesiveness will be key to its success.


8 References:

Agarwal, A & Jaffe JF 2000, ‘The post-merger performance puzzle’, JAI Series: Advances in

Mergers and Acquisitions, vol. 1, pp. 7-41.

Agarwal, A, Jaffe, JF & Mandelker, GN 1992, ‘The Post-merger performance of acquiring firms: A

reexamination of an anomaly’, Journal of Finance, vol. 47, pp. 1605-1621.

Arango, T 2010, How the AOL-Time Warner Merger Went So Wrong, The New York Times

Company, viewed 28 October 2014,

<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/business/media/11merger.html?pagewanted=all>.

Balasubramaniam, K 2014, In M&A how does an all-stock or all-cash deal affect the equity of the

buying company?, Investopedia US, viewed 29 October 2014,

<http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/06/macashstockequity.asp>.

Bushery, M 2014, The Zillow-Trulia Merger: How It Impacts Real Estate Agents and Brokers,

Placester, Inc., viewed 26 October 2014, <https://placester.com/real-estate-marketing-

academy/zillow-trulia-merger/>.

Chowdhry, A 2014, Zillow Is Acquiring Trulia For $3.5 Billion, Forbes.com LLC, viewed 25

October 2014, <http://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2014/07/28/zillow-is-acquiring-

trulia-for-3-5-billion/>.

Davidson, J 2014a, What a Zillow/Trulia Merger Might Mean For Consumers, Time Inc., viewed 26

October 2014, <http://time.com/money/3047329/zillow-trulia-merger-consumers/>.

Davidson, J 2014b, Rupert Murdoch Wants to Sell You Your Next Home, Time Inc., viewed 25

October 2014, <http://time.com/money/3449952/rupert-murdoch-newscorp-move/>.

Kosman, J 2014, Realtors want FTC to block Zillow-Trulia merger, New York Post, viewed 23

October 2014, <http://nypost.com/2014/08/15/realtors-want-ftc-to-block-zillow-trulia-

merger/>.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/business/media/11merger.html?pagewanted=all

http://time.com/money/3449952/rupert-murdoch-newscorp-move/

http://nypost.com/2014/08/15/realtors-want-ftc-to-block-zillow-trulia-merger/

http://nypost.com/2014/08/15/realtors-want-ftc-to-block-zillow-trulia-merger/


Lahey, KE & Conn, RL 1990, ‘Sensitivity Of Acquiring Firm’s Returns To Alternative Model

Specifications And Disaggregation’, Journal of Business & Accounting, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 421-

439.

Levy, J 2014, Zillow and Trulia Merge to Disrupt the Real Estate Industry, Business 2 Community,

viewed 26 October 2014, <http://www.business2community.com/finance/zillow-trulia-merge-

disrupt-real-estate-industry-0986547>.

Madison, NJ & Emeryville, C 2014, ZipRealty Inc., viewed 30 October 31, 2014,

<http://ir.ziprealty.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=180169&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1947779>.

Munarriz, R 2014, 3 Reasons Zillow Inc. Stock Could Rise, The Motley Fool, viewed 25 October

2014, <http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/08/18/3-reasons-zillow-inc-stock-could-

rise.aspx?source=isesitlnk0000001&mrr=0.17>.

NASDAQ 2014a, Zillow, Inc. Stock Quote & Summary Data, NASDAQ.com, viewed 24 October

2014, <http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/z>.

NASDAQ 2014b, TRLA Company Financials, NASDAQ.com, viewed 25 October 2014,

<http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/trla/financials?query=balance-sheet&data=quarterly>.

Nichols, B 2014, Should Investors Follow Zillow Inc. Insiders and Cash Out?, The Motley Fool,

viewed 28 October 2014, <http://www.fool.com/investing/high-growth/2014/10/22/should-

investors-follow-zillow-inc-insiders-and-ca.aspx>.

Peirson, G, Brown, R, Easton, S, Howard, P & Pinder, S 2012, Business Finance, 11th

Ed.,

McGraw-Hill Australia, NSW.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) 2014, ‘Emerging Trends in Real Estate’, PricewaterhouseCoopers

LLP, viewed 30 October 2014, <http://www.pwc.com/us/en/asset-management/real-

estate/publications/emerging-trends-in-real-estate-2015.jhtml>.

S&P Dow Jones 2014, S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC,

viewed 25 October 2014, <http://au.spindices.com/index-family/real-estate/sp-case-shiller>.

http://www.fool.com/investing/high-growth/2014/10/22/should-investors-follow-zillow-inc-insiders-and-ca.aspx

http://www.fool.com/investing/high-growth/2014/10/22/should-investors-follow-zillow-inc-insiders-and-ca.aspx


Salant, SW, Switzer, S & Reynolds, RJ 1983, ‘Losses from Horizontal Merger: The Effects of an

Exogenous Change in Industry Structure on Cournot-Nash Equilibrium’, The quarterly journal

of economics, vol. 98, no. 2, pp. 185 – 189.

Securities and Exchange Commission 2014a, Zillow Inc., Form 8-K, Securities and Exchange

Commission, viewed 25 October 2014, <http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ABEA-

6AA1JU/3565950990x0xS1193125-14-281415/1334814/filing.pdf>.

Securities and Exchange Commission 2014b, Transcript of Spencer Rascoff’s October 1, 2014

appearance on CNBC, Securities and Exchange Commission, viewed 26 October 2014,

<http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1334814/000119312514362620/d799976d425.htm>.

Securities and Exchange Commission 2014c, Agreement and plan of merger among Zillow, Inc,

Zebra Holdco, Inc. and Trulia, Inc., Securities and Exchange Commission, viewed 26 October

2014,

<http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1334814/000119312514284607/d763109dex21.htm>

.

Solomon, SD 2014, In Real Estate Listings Deal With Zillow, Trulia Bears Most of the Risk, The

New York Times, 25 October 2014, <http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/07/31/in-deal-for-real-

estate-listing-trulia-zillow-comes-out-on-

top/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1>.

The Motley Fool 2006, Foolish Fundamentals: Stock Dilution, The Motley Fool, viewed 29 October

2014, <http://www.fool.com/investing/high-growth/2006/04/28/foolish-fundamentals-stock-

dilution.aspx>.

Trulia 2014, Trulia Inc., Annual Report on Form 10-K, Trulia Inc., viewed 24 October 2014,

<http://ir.trulia.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=251458&p=irol-sec>.

Wagner, D 2014, Politics and Real Estate in the U.S., Huffington Post, viewed 25 October 2014,

<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-wagner/politics-and-real-estate-_b_5888398.html>.

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1334814/000119312514284607/d763109dex21.htm

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/07/31/in-deal-for-real-estate-listing-trulia-zillow-comes-out-on-top/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1




Windsor, D, Autrey, LS & Jones, JH 2010, Shareholder Wealth Maximization, in Boathright, JR

2010 Finance Ethics, Critical Issues in Theory and Practice, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,

Hoboken, New Jersey.

Yahoo Finance 2014a, Historical Prices, Yahoo! 7 Pty Limited, viewed 26 October 2014,

<https://au.finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=Z&a=05&b=1&c=2014&d=09&e=27&f=2014&g=d&z

=66&y=66>.

Yahoo Finance 2014b, Historical Prices, Yahoo! 7 Pty Limited, viewed 26 October 2014,

<https://au.finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=TRLA&a=05&b=1&c=2004&d=09&e=27&f=2014&g=

d&z=66&y=462>.

Yahoo Finance 2014c, Historical Prices, Yahoo! 7 Pty Limited, viewed 26 October 2014,

<https://au.finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=RLGY&a=05&b=1&c=2014&d=09&e=27&f=2014&g=

d&z=66&y=0>.

Yahoo Finance 2014d, Historical Prices, Yahoo! 7 Pty Limited, viewed 26 October 2014,

<https://au.finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=ZIPR&a=05&b=1&c=2014&d=09&e=27&f=2014&g=d

>.

Yahoo Finance 2014e, ZipRealty, Yahoo! 7 Pty Limited, viewed 30 October 2014,

<https://au.finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=ZIPR&a=05&b=1&c=2014&d=09&e=27&f=2014&g=d>

.

Yahoo Finance 2014f, Realogy, Yahoo! 7 Pty Limited, viewed 30 October 2014,

<https://au.finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=RLGY&a=05&b=1&c=2014&d=09&e=27&f=2014&g=

d&z=66&y=0>.

Yahoo Finance 2014g, Zillow, Yahoo! 7 Pty Limited, viewed 29 October 2014, <

https://au.finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=Z&a=05&b=1&c=2014&d=09&e=27&f=2014&g=d&z=6

6&y=66>.

Zillow 2014a, Zillow Inc., Form 10-K, Annual Report, Zillow Inc., viewed 24 October 2014,

<http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ABEA-

6AA1JU/3565950990x0xS1193125%2D14%2D56800/1334814/filing.pdf>.

https://au.finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=ZIPR&a=05&b=1&c=2014&d=09&e=27&f=2014&g=d

https://au.finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=RLGY&a=05&b=1&c=2014&d=09&e=27&f=2014&g=d&z=66&y=0

https://au.finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=RLGY&a=05&b=1&c=2014&d=09&e=27&f=2014&g=d&z=66&y=0

https://au.finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=Z&a=05&b=1&c=2014&d=09&e=27&f=2014&g=d&z=66&y=66

https://au.finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=Z&a=05&b=1&c=2014&d=09&e=27&f=2014&g=d&z=66&y=66


Zillow 2014b, Zillow Inc., Form 8-K, Zillow Inc., viewed 24 October 2014,

<http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ABEA-

6AA1JU/3565950990x0xS1193125%2D14%2D281415/1334814/filing.pdf>.

Zillow 2014c, Zillow Announces Acquisition of Trulia for $3.5 Billion in Stock, Zillow Inc., viewed

26 October 2014, <http://zillow.mediaroom.com/2014-07-28-Zillow-Announces-Acquisition-

of-Trulia-for-3-5-Billion-in-Stock>.

http://zillow.mediaroom.com/2014-07-28-Zillow-Announces-Acquisition-of-Trulia-for-3-5-Billion-in-Stock

http://zillow.mediaroom.com/2014-07-28-Zillow-Announces-Acquisition-of-Trulia-for-3-5-Billion-in-Stock


9 Appendix

Appendix 1: Trulia balance sheet for four quarters

Quarter: 2nd 1st 4th 3rd

Quarter Ending: 6/30/2014 3/31/2014 12/31/2013 9/30/2013

Current Assets

Cash and Cash Equivalents $214,909 $220,755 $225,597 $43,417

Short-Term Investments $0 $0 $0 $0

Net Receivables $14,541 $11,230 $11,697 $13,679

Inventory $0 $0 $0 $0

Other Current Assets $9,238 $8,190 $12,272 $5,853

Total Current Assets $238,688 $240,175 $249,566 $62,949

Long-Term Assets

Long-Term Investments $0 $0 $0 $0

Fixed Assets $30,155 $25,999 $22,289 $12,524

Goodwill $255,904 $255,904 $255,904 $255,904

Intangible Assets $110,221 $114,073 $117,888 $121,699

Other Assets $14,639 $14,842 $9,762 $2,507

Deferred Asset Charges $0 $0 $0 $0

Total Assets $649,607 $650,993 $655,409 $455,583

Current Liabilities

Accounts Payable $25,704 $21,431 $25,142 $22,016

Short-Term Debt / Current Portion of Long-Term

Debt $21 $28 $51 $3,748

Other Current Liabilities $11,117 $11,886 $11,037 $12,690

Total Current Liabilities $36,842 $33,345 $36,230 $38,454

Long-Term Debt $230,075 $230,080 $230,084 $4,269

Other Liabilities $3,900 $3,439 $3,268 $1,551

Deferred Liability Charges $5,752 $5,125 $4,751 $0

Misc. Stocks $0 $0 $0 $0

Minority Interest $0 $0 $0 $0

Total Liabilities $276,569 $271,989 $274,333 $44,274

Stock Holders Equity

Common Stocks $0 $0 $0 $0

Capital Surplus $470,936 $459,039 $445,960 $465,047

Retained Earnings ($97,898) ($80,035) ($64,884) ($53,738)

Treasury Stock $0 $0 $0 $0

Other Equity $0 $0 $0 $0

Total Equity $373,038 $379,004 $381,076 $411,309

Total Liabilities & Equity $649,607 $650,993 $655,409 $455,583

Table 2: Source: NASDAQ 2014b


Appendix 2: Trulia - Share price movements

Figure 1: Source: Adapted from Yahoo Finance 2014b

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70


Appendix 3: The stock price patterns of Realogy & ZipRealty

Stock price patterns of Realogy

Figure 4: Source: Adapted from Yahoo Finance 2014c

Stock price patterns of ZipRealty

Figure 5: Source: Adapted from Yahoo Finance 2014d

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

7/14/14

7/21/14

7/28/14

8/4/14

8/11/14

8/18/14

8/25/14

9/1/14

9/8/14

9/15/14

9/22/14

9/29/14

10/6/14

10/13/14

10/20/14

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

7/14/14

7/21/14

7/28/14

8/4/14

8/11/14

8/18/14

8/25/14

9/1/14

9/8/14

9/15/14

9/22/14

9/29/14

10/6/14

10/13/14

10/20/14


Appendix 4: Detailed analysis of future assumptions

Based on the combined market value of approximately $5.9 billion, as of 24 October 2014

(NASDAQ 2014a), the following key factors have to be taken into consideration in order to buy

stock in the combined company: micro- and macro environment, market and industry.

Microeconomically, the combined companies are subject to a wide range of risks that can have

significant impact on their business, operating results and financial health resulting in the fact that

prospects can be materially and adversely affected (Trulia 2014; Zillow 2014a). As the nature of

both businesses is equal, the combined company risk profile is the same. Consequently, due to this

prevailing condition, one has to take into account that in case of uncertain events happening, either

positive or negative, both company’s share prices move into the same direction (cf. Figure 2). This

means, that these companies, due to their horizontal integration (Peirson et al. 2012) are not able to

mitigate and offset each other’s risk exposure.

Also, share price volatility patterns are paramount when making assumptions about the future

market value of both companies and buying stock, particularly prior and post-merger. As to be seen

in Figure 2, there is a strong resemblance in both company’s share price development. Even though

Zillow could realize a stronger share price growth since the end of year 2012, both companies

significantly increased their share price prior to the announcement. The decline in the months from

May to beginning of June is depicted in the Case-Shiller index as home prices decreased roughly at

0.3% (Munarriz 2014).

Indicative of insider trading, one week before the merger announcement rumours about the potential

became public and the share price began to rise (Chowdhry 2014). This increase in share price has

amplified after the official merger announcement on 28 July 2014 and a salient spike can be

observed.


Figure 2: Source: Adapted from NASDAQ 2014a

In order to make assumptions about the future stock price, studies about long-term post-merger

performance of combined companies have to be considered. For example, Agarwal et al. (1992)

have examined that combined companies face a statistically significant loss of approximately 10%

in a five-year post-merger period. Likewise, Lahey and Conn (1990) investigate that after three

years of a merger, the cumulative abnormal results decrease to -10.2%. This is corroborated by a

study of Agarwal and Jaffe (2000), concluding that long-term post-merger stock performance is

significantly negative.

Macroeconomically, as the Price-Waterhouse-Coopers (PWC) report on emerging real estate trends

for 2015 demonstrates, there is still a growing concern of a real estate bubble (PWC 2014). They

argue, that the positive industry outlook and optimism can result in excessive optimism, which could

lead to reckless behaviour. However, PWC (2014) claims that the real estate industry seems to have

adapted some self-regulation and self-correction. The 2015 industry outlook is positive, considering

the “once-burned, twice-shy” experience. As the Blue Chip Economist forecast ascertains, the

positive industry outlook is strengthened by a above-trend gross domestic product (GDP) growth in

$-

$10

$20

$30

$40

$50

$60

$70

$80

$90

$100

$110

$120

$130

$140

$150

$160

$170

Share price development comparison

Zillow Trulia


late 2014 and through 2015 (PWC 2014). Moreover, prospected labour force growth in the next

three years, a drop in the unemployment rate to 5.5 % and Consumer Price Index (CPI) prediction

above 2% demonstrate a positive future industry outlook.

The market potential is contributing to making assumptions about the future of the combined

company. As stated in Zillow’s quarterly report (Zillow 2014b) the two companies’ combined

revenue currently represents less than 4 percent of the estimated $12 billion that real estate

professionals spend on marketing their services to consumers each year. Following from that, a

strong growth potential exists for market participants. This can be underpinned by the fact that the

Case-Shiller index has shown a steady upward trend from 2012, apart from a dip between May and

June 2014 (S&P Dow Jones Indices 2014).

Both Zillow and Trulia have implemented director’s share-based compensation schemes. Under

Zillow, this compensation plan is called “2011 Plan” and among others, includes equity awards and

incentive stock options to employees, directors et cetera (Zillow 2014b). Assuming that the overall

corporate objective is shareholder wealth maximisation, the combined company’s stakeholders such

as directors, the executive management and other employees could be encouraged to undertake

certain actions to influence the stock price. In this respect, these actions might not be in alignment

with the long-term strategy and opposed to that, focus short-term earnings (Windsor et al. 2010).

Thus, a compensation scheme that attempts to encourage certain employee behaviour according to

stock incentives can result in share price volatility, as provision and bonus payments are dependent

on the extent of a potential deviation.


Appendix 5: Merger and Acquisition Scenarios

1. Realogy acquisition of ZipRealty

The acquisition was announced on July 15, 2004 (Madison & Emeryville 2014). On the day of the

announcement, Realogy’s share price was $37.29. A year later, Realogy shares were worth around

$40.76 (Yahoo Finance 2014f). More spectacular was the rise in ZipRealty’s stock prices. While

ZipRealty’s shares were priced at $3.02 on July 15, 2004, their prices had more than doubled a year

later. They were priced $6.74 on date of deal completion (Yahoo Finance 2014e). The stock price

patterns are shown in Appendix 3.

2. Merger between America Online (AOL) and Time Warner

The merger was similar to the Zillow-Trulia merger because it was an attempt to consolidate the

market (media and internet). It was also a stock-only deal in which AOL acquired Time Warner’s

shares and their debt. The value of the deal was $350 billion. According to the deal, AOL paid $183

billion in stock and acquired $17 in debt of Time Warner. AOL was to own 55% of the company.

However, the deal was unsuccessful over the long run because – lack of synergy between the two

organizations, structure of management team that was heavily tilted in favour of AOL and lack of

trust.

The AOL-Time Warner deal was broken in 2009. Time Warner’s stock price, which was close to

$250 in January 2000, was around $25 in May 2009. AOL was valued at $161 billion in January

2000 but was valued at $4 billion in 2009.

evaluation of zillow - trulia merger - the economist€¦ · evaluation of zillow - trulia merger...

Documents