Parent of brokerage brands incl. Sotheby’s to be acquired, stock hits three-year high

Shares of small-cap Anywhere Real Estate, owner of the Sotheby’s International Realty and Century 21 brands, soared nearly 46% yesterday, September 22, to the highest levels since mid-2022. Investors were encouraged by the announcement that the company would do a combination with a peer, Compass. The deal will be one of the largest ever in the residential brokerage industry, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Shares of Anywhere Real Estate jumped yesterday almost 46% to $10.29 per share, the highest closing mark since mid-2022. In early trading today, the stock continued to rise, up around 1% as of this writing.

Yesterday, the company said it would be acquired by real estate brokerage Compass.  The deal will take the form of a stock swap and values Anywhere shares at $13.01 apiece, about 84% above where Anywhere’s stock closed on Friday, September 19. 

The merger will create a company worth about $10 billion, including debt. The current owners of Compass will own about 78% of the combined company, while Anywhere shareholders will own about 22%.

The deal, which has already been approved by the boards of both companies, is expected to close in the first half of 2026. However, it must first be approved by shareholders and regulators.

The deal would create a new industry giant with an enterprise value of about $10 billion, including debt, in one of the largest ever in the residential brokerage industry, the WSJ writes. Compass and Anywhere were already the first- and second-biggest brokerages by volume in 2024, respectively, according to RealTrends.

The transaction will create a premier residential real estate platform, the company said. It will broaden the international referral network and add new services, like relocation, escrow, and title insurance. This will generate about $1 billion in additional revenue for Compass, the announcement said. In 2024, Compass reported a 14.8% increase in revenue to $5.6 billion.

Investors were unimpressed. Compass shares fell 15.7% yesterday to $7.92 per share, before rebounding 1.2% in early trading this morning (as of this writing).

Meanwhile, law firm Halper Sadeh, an investor rights law firm, said is investigating whether the merger is fair to Compass shareholders.

The deal comes amid consolidation in the residential real-estate industry, which has struggled in recent years, the WSJ writes. The number of home sales plunged after mortgage rates rose in 2022 and has stayed low ever since. Existing-home sales are on track for one of their slowest years in decades. Many smaller brokerage firms around the country have sold their companies to larger rivals.

Some real-estate brokerages and mortgage lenders are trying to become one-stop shops. For example, Mortgage giant Rocket purchased real-estate brokerage Redfin earlier this year and announced plans to buy mortgage servicer Mr. Cooper Group.

But even with this acquisition, the combined firm will control less than a quarter of the country’s home-sales volume. The real-estate brokerage industry is highly fragmented among many small firms that specialize in individual markets, the WSJ notes.

Shares of Anywhere have surged 212% year to date. According to MarketWatch, Wall Street coverage analysts assign the stock two “hold” ratings and one “sell.” Compass has gained 35.4% since the start of the year. Analyst views on the stock are split: four recommend buying it, while four advise holding it.

The AI translation of this story was reviewed by a human editor.