Rocket Cos., the Detroit-based fintech platform consisting of mortgage, real estate, and personal finance businesses, today announced it has entered into an agreement to purchase Seattle-based Redfin, a leading digital real estate brokerage, in an all-stock transaction for a value of $12.50 per Redfin share, or $1.75 billion of equity value.
Founded in 2004, Redfin is one of America’s most recognized real estate brands, operating a top three home search platform with more than 1 million for-sale and rental listings and a tech-powered brokerage of more than 2,200 agents.
“Rocket and Redfin have a unified vision of a better way to buy and sell homes,” says Varun Krishna, CEO of Rocket Cos. “Together, we will improve the experience by connecting traditionally disparate steps of the search and financing process with leading technology that removes friction, reduces costs, and increases value to American homebuyers.”
For 40 years, Rocket’s digital platform has grown to provide home financing in all 50 states across 3,000-plus counties and parishes. By combining Redfin’s home search and real estate agent network with Rocket’s mortgage origination and servicing capabilities, the company envisions a more seamless experience from search to close, to servicing and future transactions.
“Rocket and Redfin’s approaches to lending and brokerage service have always been two halves of one vision to make the whole home-buying process magical,” says Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin. “We want a customer to be able to check her phone to find out what she can afford, see which homes are just right for her, schedule a tour with a local, expert Redfin agent, and get pre-qualified for a loan, all in a matter of minutes.
“Varun and I see how much better real estate could be when AI guides customers not just through that first step in their search, but all the way home, through the sale, the loan and then a lifetime of accumulating equity and wealth.”
Bringing Rocket Cos. and Redfin together is expected to:
- Introduce more consumers to the Rocket ecosystem: Rocket Cos. will benefit from Redfin’s nearly 50 million monthly visitors, 1 million active purchase and rental listings, and a staff of 2,200-plus real estate agents across 42 states — with Redfin agents ranking in the top 1 percent of agents working at any nationwide brokerage.
- Drive Rocket’s purchase mortgage growth: The transaction will generate significant revenue synergies across search, real estate brokerage, mortgage origination, title, and servicing. Rocket will match homebuyers with the best real estate agents and the best loan officers across the combined companies. In 2024, Rocket saw an 8 percent year-over-year increase in purchase market share and aims to further accelerate growth through this acquisition.
- AI, technology and personalization at scale: With more than 14 petabytes of combined data, Rocket gains unparalleled consumer insights, including information about homebuyers, seller, and agents across a data repository of 100 million properties. This data will strengthen Rocket’s AI models enabling easier and more personalized and automated consumer experiences.
- Achieve significant synergies and earnings accretion: Rocket expects the combined company to achieve more than $200 million in run-rate synergies by 2027, including approximately $140 million in cost synergies from rationalization of duplicative operations and other costs. In addition, Rocket expects more than $60 million in revenue synergies from pairing the company’s financing clients with Redfin real estate agents, and from driving clients working with Redfin agents to Rocket’s mortgage, title, and servicing offerings. The transaction is expected to be accretive to Rocket Cos.’ adjusted earnings per share by the end of 2026. Rocket Cos. will maintain its strong balance sheet and conservative leverage profile upon close of the transaction.
Under the terms of the agreement, each share of Redfin common stock will be exchanged for a fixed ratio of 0.7926 shares of Rocket Companies Class A common stock, which represents a premium of 63 percent over the volume weighted average price (VWAP) of Redfin’s common stock for the 30 days ending March 7, 2025. Upon completion of the transaction, current Rocket Companies shareholders will own approximately 95 percent of the combined company on a fully diluted basis, while Redfin shareholders will own approximately 5 percent.
The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both Rocket Cos. and Redfin. It is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2025, subject to approval by Redfin shareholders and the satisfaction of other closing conditions, including the expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.
Upon closing of the transaction, it is expected that Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman will continue to lead the Redfin business, reporting to Rocket Cos.’ CEO Varun Krishna.
Morgan Stanley & Co. is acting as financial advisor and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison is acting as legal counsel to Rocket Cos. Goldman Sachs & Co is acting as financial advisor and Fenwick & West is acting as legal counsel to Redfin.
Rocket Cos. also announced it has entered into an agreement to simplify its organizational and capital structure. Under the agreement, Rocket Cos. will collapse its current “Up-C” structure, eliminate its high-vote / low-vote structure and reduce its classes of common stock from four to two (the “Up-C Collapse”).
Following the Up-C Collapse, the public stockholders will continue to hold their current shares of common stock, while Dan Gilbert (founder and chairman of Rocket Cos.) and the other stockholders of Rock Holdings Inc. (RHI) will hold shares of common stock directly in Rocket Cos., instead of through RHI, and will no longer hold limited liability company units of Rocket, LLC, the principal operating subsidiary of Rocket Cos.
Additionally, shares of common stock to be directly held by Dan Gilbert and other stockholders of RHI will carry one vote per share, as opposed to the 10 votes per share of the Class D common stock they currently hold, and will be subject to a lock up. The Up-C Collapse will simplify Rocket’s organizational structure, enhancing equity liquidity, improving its ability to use its common stock as acquisition currency in acquisition transactions, including the acquisition of Redfin, and creating a clearer corporate profile.
In connection with the Up-C Collapse, the Rocket Cos.’ board of directors authorized and declared a cash dividend of $0.80 per share to the holders of Rocket’s Class A common stock (the “Special Dividend”). The Special Dividend will be paid on April 3, 2025, to holders of the Class A common stock of record as of the close of business on March 20, 2025.
Founded in 1985, Rocket Cos. includes Rocket Mortgage, Rocket Homes, Rocket Close, Rocket Money, and Rocket Loans. For more information, visit the corporate website.
A replay of Rocket Cos.’ conference call this morning to discuss the transaction will be available for all stakeholders on the investor relations website following the conclusion of the event at or investor relations website.
Launched in 2006, Redfin serves approximately 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada, and employs more than 4,000 people. For more information, visit redfin.com.
