Deutsche Telekom has begun discussions with buyers and advisors regarding the sale of Germany’s largest online portal for vehicle and real estate sales, Scout24, for which it could receive around 1.5 billion euros, British media reported.
The German telecommunications giant is conducting an internal review of this part of its business and has not yet made a definitive decision about its future, the London financial daily Financial Times (FT) reported on Sunday in its online edition.
As part of the review, Deutsche Telekom has decided to informally assess the interest in this business and its individual parts, such as the real estate portal and the vehicle sales branch, which is considered the most valuable asset.
ImmobilienScout24 is the largest German real estate trading portal with over seven million visitors, while AutoScout24, the European car portal, operates in 18 countries and has 13 million users in Germany.
An informed source highlighted to FT that there are other options for this part of the business, including direct sale, division of individual parts of the group, and merging with similar businesses. Scout24 has been a subsidiary of DT since 2006.
The German tk-group declined to comment on FT’s information.
Among the companies that have shown interest in Scout24 is the German media group Axel Springer, and inquiries from Auto Trader and eBay are also expected, as they have already developed platforms for online vehicle sales and retail, an analyst told the London daily.
