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Anywhere Real Estate has made an offer to acquire luxury brokerage firm Douglas Elliman. The offer was first reported by Bloomberg.
According to Bloomberg’s sources, the bid would value Douglas Elliman at more than $4 a share. The firm’s stock ended Thursday at $2.14 a share, giving the firm a market value of roughly $190 million. This is down from more than $900 million in December 2021.Â
Spokespeople at both firms would not comment on, confirm or deny the rumor.Â
Things at Douglas Elliman have been rocky as of late, with some executive shake ups in October of 2024, including the firing of long time Douglas Elliman Realty CEO Scott Durkin just days after the company announced the retirement of parent company CEO Howard Lorber. Michael Liebowitz, the firm’s board director, was named the new chairman and CEO.
Lorber’s time at Douglas Elliman was marred by scandal. At an internal inquiry, Lorber admitted to having intimate relationships with two of the company’s brokers. He has also taken heat from investors, who felt that he was mismanaging the company’s finances due to its continued losses in quarterly earnings.
Additionally, shareholders also called for him to reduce his compensation after it recently came to light that long-time — and now former — Douglas Elliman agents Oren and Tal Alexander have been accused of sexual assault by multiple women in a federal case.
Douglas Elliman agent Jessica Cohen claims that she told Lorber about being assaulted by the Alexander brothers in 2012, but the brokerage maintains that no formal complaint was lodged against them during their decade-long stint at the firm.
In Q1 2025, Anywhere recorded $1.2 billion in revenue and a $78 million net loss, as well as a negative free cash flow of $130 million.
These results came as transaction units were down roughly 4% annually, which was partially offset by an 11% increase in home sale prices. On the bright side, however, the firm reported $14 million in cost savings and executives say it is on track to deliver $100 million in cost savings for the full year 2025.
In March 2025, Anywhere CEO Ryan Schneider told RealTrending host Tracey Velt that the firm had a renewed focus on mergers and acquisitions.
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