Australia's REA increases its offer to buy the British company Rightmove to $8.1B

Following the rejection of its first two bids, Australian real estate listing company REA Group launched a third attempt on Monday to acquire British rival Rightmove with a fresh 6.1 billion pound ($8.12 billion) offer.

Rightmove is impliedly worth 770 pence per share based on the most recent offer, which comprises 341 pence in cash and 0.0422 new REA shares.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. owns 62% of REA's shares, which ended the day down 2.5% on Monday.

Rightmove's shares increased by 4% in the first trading session following the London stock market's opening.

Inquiries concerning the latest non-binding offer were not promptly addressed by Rightmove.

The offer made by REA on Monday is greater than the two previous proposals, which were for 749 pence and 705 pence per share, respectively, or 5.6 billion pounds. Both proposals were turned down by Rightmove, which said they undervalued the business.

With the exception of the rejections, REA said it didn't have any "important interaction" with Rightmove and that it was still prepared to speak with the Rightmove board right away.

In a statement, REA CEO Owen Wilson expressed his sincere disappointment with Rightmove's board's lack of involvement and urged them to become involved.

Analysts estimate that the property market in Britain is three times larger than that in Australia, so a deal would enable REA to move more quickly with its intentions for foreign expansion.

S&P analyst Entcho Raykovski noted that if a deal moves forward, News Corp's REA holding would be cut to approximately 49%. He added that the enhanced offer is obviously intended to get the Rightmove board to the bargaining table.

Reiterating its intention to apply for a secondary listing in London, the Australian company hopes to expand its investor base.