HomeServices of America is not for sale, CEO says
Gino Blefari denied a Wall Street Journal report of acquisition talks with Compass, saying “there are no discussions, negotiations or agreements” taking place.
HomeServices of America President and CEO Gino Blefari is strongly denying a report that Compass is in talks to purchase HSoA.
"I want to confirm to you that there are no discussions, negotiations or agreements to sell HomeServices or any of its affiliated companies and that includes the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices franchise business," Blefari said in a statement shared with franchisees.
"Moreover," he added, "no such sale is being contemplated."
What is being reported, and more details from Blefari: According to the Wall Street Journal on March 13, Compass "is in advanced talks" to acquire HomeServices of America, one of its top competitors and the parent of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.
It's not yet known where the story came from, Blefari said, but "it's important to note that it was based on rumors from unnamed sources."
He also said that HomeServices was "not given notice of the article nor the opportunity to respond."
"I am aware that this misinformation may have been alarming, confusing and disruptive to you and your network agents," Blefari continued.
What Compass has to say: While Compass did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the latest rumors surrounding a potential HomeServices acquisition, a spokesperson for the company told Real Estate News in February that "accretive mergers and acquisitions will continue to be part of our growth strategy" but did not confirm any details about a possible deal with HSoA.
However, some industry leaders have predicted that a repeal of NAR's Clear Cooperation Policy and an industry-wide push toward private listings could lead to further consolidation of brokerages. Compass CEO Robert Reffkin told investors during the company's February 19 earnings call that its brokerage strategy was aimed at getting more listings in hopes that agents and consumers alike would see more merit in working with Compass. Reffkin argued for "depth of inventory, not breadth" as a competitive advantage.
"By growing our unique inventory and marrying that with our end-to-end platform, which has agent-level search and consumer search at a level that no other brokerage firm in the industry has, we believe that more and more buyers will search Compass.com and use Compass agents, as it will be known that Compass has more inventory than any other website or brokerage," Reffkin said.