Rupert Murdoch’s property group REA ends chase to buy Rightmove after multiple rejected offers

LONDON — Rupert Murdoch's Australian spot patient REA Group said Monday it could nary longer activity to bargain nan U.K.'s Rightmove aft nan spot portal rejected a 4th takeover proposal.

REA said it maintains a "disciplined approach" to mergers and acquisitions and that it's bid for Rightmove was limited connected coming to an statement astatine a "fair price."

"We were disappointed alongside nan constricted engagement from Rightmove that impeded our expertise to make a patient connection wrong nan timetable available. They had thing to suffer by engaging alongside us," said REA's CEO Owen Wilson.

Rightmove, meanwhile, said Monday successful a abstracted connection that its committee unanimously rejected REA Group's 4th connection message connected nan grounds that it "materially undervalued Rightmove and its early prospects." It added that shareholder interests could beryllium amended served done nan execution of Rightmove's standalone strategical plan.

The offer, made connected Friday, for 346 pence successful rate and 0.0417 caller REA shares, implied an further 10 pence successful worth aliases 1.3%, astatine that long compared to nan erstwhile 3rd proposal, according to Rightmove.

Shares of Rightmove were 7.8% little arsenic of 1:05 p.m. London time.

The Australian spot listings company, that is controlled by Murdoch's News Corp, first announced it was contemplating a takeover of Rightmove astatine nan commencement of September. It's last bid of astir £6 cardinal ($8.1 billion), according to Reuters, came aft an first connection of £5.6 billion.

Before Melbourne-headquartered REA Group confirmed it was abandoning its proposals for Rightmove, nan U.K. patient had urged REA to taxable a last connection to bring an extremity to nan uncertainty from nan bidding process.

"The past fewer weeks person been highly disruptive, arsenic patient arsenic unsettling for our colleagues," said Rightmove's Chair Andrew Fisher.

REA Group, successful that News Corp owns a much than 61% interest, operates a number of spot websites successful Australia, arsenic patient arsenic respective brands successful India and nan U.S. The company's erstwhile endeavor into nan U.K. faced stiff marketplace pressure. The company sold its existent property tract PropertyFinder Group to Rightmove rival Zoopla successful 2009, during nan Global Financial Crisis.

- CNBC's Karen Gilchrest contributed to this story.