Homestore-Move.com Deal Cleared

Homestore.com Inc., which operates a network of real-estate-related Internet sites, said federal antitrust regulators will not oppose its purchase of Internet real estate portal Move.com from franchising giant Cendant Corp.

The deal would create the nation’s largest Web-based real estate service. Shares of Homestore.com surged $5.03, or 17%, to close at $34.97 on Nasdaq. Westlake Village-based Homestore.com said the Justice Department had notified the two companies that it would not oppose the closing of the acquisition, which the companies expect to occur by Tuesday.

However, the department is continuing an investigation of Homestore.com agreements, “including certain agreements between Homestore.com and Cendant,” Homestore.com said. The company said on Oct. 27 that it would buy Move.com and some of Cendant’s related assets in exchange for 26.3 million Homestore.com common shares. At that time, the deal was worth about $761 million. The rise in Homestore.com’s stock price since then has raised the value of the deal to about $900 million.