The Belgian real estate portal Zimmo has today announced that it has agreed to acquire its competitor Logic-Immo.be from the media company IPM Group. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Both Zimmo and Logic-Immo.be are challengers of the market-leading Belgian real estate portal Immoweb which is operated by AVIV Group, a subsidiary of the German media powerhouse Axel Springer.
In the highly regional Belgian market, the acquisition made good sense. Zimmo is based in the Flemish-speaking north of the country (Flanders) while Logic-Immo.be has historically been strong in the French-speaking south (Wallonia).
"This acquisition allows Zimmo to significantly increase its market share in Brussels and Wallonia. For visitors and users of Logic-Immo.be, there will be practically no change because the domain name Logic-Immo. be will now link to Zimmo.be, so that all classified ads will be integrated there", says Yves Vanderveken, Business Director Zimmo.
"This merger gives Logic-Immo.be customers access to the Zimmo platform, it will be a win-win for everyone. IPM Group continues to serve its customers via its press titles", explains François le Hodey, CEO of 'IPM Group.
The challenge to AVIV Group and Immoweb has effectively been unified with today's announcement with no other significant challengers in the market.