Proxy share vote adviser backs CoStar OTM deal

Proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has recommended that shareholders back the CoStar UK takeover of OnTheMarket (OTM).

The independent advisory firm said shareholders should vote for the deal.

It comes ahead of a crunch vote for shareholders on 4 December surrounding the acquisition of OTM by CoStar which, if passed, would end the idea of an agent-owned portal.

CoStar, owner of US portals Homes.com and Apartments.com, made a £100m takeover bid through its UK arm for OTM earlier this month and vowed to “aggressively” build the business and grow its market share.

The offer is worth 110p per share for OTM.

The deal has been opposed by vocal OTM critic Brett Stone who has tried to alert people in the industry as well as ISS, MPs and even King Charles to what he believes is a bad deal that isn’t in the national interest.

Stone, a former partner at Cantor Fitzgerald and founder of Trunkstone, a new long-term holding company focused on the property commerce category and the managing partner of private investment partnership Edengen, has previously issued open letters questioning OTM’s management.

He issued a new response on Friday that claimed ISS’s analysis“appears to show a lack of understanding of OnTheMarket’s business and market dynamic.”

Stone said ISS acknowledges in its report that its recommendation is aimed towards institutional investors “whose interests may differ from agents.