James Packer acquired a 9.4% stake in Zillow Inc. Cavalane Holdings, of which Packer holds a controlling stake, purchased 3 million shares in the US real estate website. The acquisition made Packer the second biggest shareholder of the Seattle-based website. He is an Australian billionaire.
The purchase of the stake was revealed in a Zillow filing. No financial details were disclosed, but Bloomberg reported that based on the most recent closing price of Zillow's shares, the deal would be worth USD 298 million.
The purchase came after confidence in the US housing market reflected optimism. Housing starts reached more than one million for the first time in five years. Since 2005, the confidence level of US homebuilders also rose to an all-time high in August.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia Analyst Alice Bennett told Bloomberg by phone, "He obviously thinks it's the right time to be getting into that business."
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index showed that Packer had a net worth of USD 6.1 billion.
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