Realtor.com operator Move Inc. has purchased Relocation.com, a consumer-facing website that links homebuyers and renters with movers and storage facilities, for $11.5 million in cash, and will merge the company into its existing lead generation business for moving professionals, Moving.com.
"Our goal is to create the leading online marketplace for real estate-related information and services," said Steve Berkowitz, Move’s CEO, in a statement. "Bringing Relocation.com under the Move umbrella and merging it with our Moving.com business extends our value to consumers by increasing the resources and tools at their disposal."
Move said the acquisition also bolsters the company’s focus on the U.S. residential rental market, which is expected to grow by 5 to 6 million households in the next decade, Move said, citing figures from the Washington, D.C.-based Bipartisan Policy Center.
Of the $11.5 million in cash Move has agreed to pay for Relocation.com, $9.5 million was paid upfront when the deal closed. The remaining $2 million will be paid in two equal installments on the next two anniversaries of the deal. The acquisition will show up in Move’s fourth-quarter financial statements when the company expects to report revenue from Relocation.com.
Relocation.com is the fourth Move acquisition in a little over two years. In early September, Move purchased real estate lead generation and management company TigerLead Solutions LLC for $22 million.
Move acquired social media search platform SocialBios in July 2011 on undisclosed terms, after entering the listing syndication business in 2010 by acquiring ListHub parent company Threewide Corp. for $13.1 million.
