👉 Background: Domain is the real-estate marketplace that first listed properties online in 1999 — back when real estate fold-outs were a property buyer's best friend. Despite its growth, Domain has always played second-fiddle to realestate.com.au, which has had 46% more monthly unique visitors than Domain.

👉 What happened: This didn’t stop a “mystery buyer” from acquiring a 16.9% stake in Domain in February this year (Spoiler alert: it was the US real estate firm Costar). They slid into Domain’s DMs with an offer which was first rejected, then they sweetened the deal. And now, Domain’s majority shareholder Nine Entertainment has backed this deal, which was at a 42% premium to Domain’s share price before the proposal.

👉 What else: Technically shareholders still need to vote on the deal. But given Nine’s 60.1% stake and CoStar’s near-17% stake, there’s not much up for debate.

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What's the key learning?

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💡Controlling stakes don’t just influence outcomes - they often decide them. When a company or shareholder owns more a large stake in a business, they can effectively control the outcome of major decisions - everything from leadership changes to mergers and acquisitions.

💡Nine owns 60.1% of Domain, which means their vote basically seals the deal with CoStar. So as long as Nine’s on board, the deal is likely to go ahead.

💡But not all controlling shareholders are willing to facilitate a takeover. In 2022, private equity firm KKR tried to acquire Australian hospital operator Ramsay Health Care for $20 billion. But the deal fell apart because the Ramsay family, which owned 19% of the company, didn’t back the proposal.