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States sue Zillow, Redfin for alleged antitrust violation in online rental housing

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States sue Zillow, Redfin for alleged antitrust violation in online rental housing


Rafael Henrique | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Attorneys general from five states sued Zillow and Redfin on Wednesday, alleging the companies schemed to stop competition in the online housing rental market.

The lawsuit follows a similar one filed by the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday.

Officials from New York, Arizona, Connecticut, Washington and Virginia jointly filed the lawsuit Wednesday, citing a February deal between the two companies in which Zillow “paid Redfin $100 million to shut down its apartment rental advertising business and transfer its clients to Zillow,” New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office said in a news release.

“This agreement is nothing more than an end run around competition that insulates Zillow from head-to-head competition on the merits with Redfin for customers advertising multifamily buildings,” the lawsuit reads.

The suit alleges that the agreements violate federal antitrust laws and may harm renters using the companies’ resources. It also claims that Redfin fired hundreds of employees and then worked with Zillow to rehire some of them.

“Millions of New Yorkers rely on online apartment listings to find an affordable and safe place to live,” James said in a statement. “Zillow’s attempt to shut down its competition could drive up costs for advertisers and leave renters with fewer options when searching for a new apartment.”

Zillow, Redfin and CoStar, which owns Apartments.com, are the three largest players in the market and account for 85% of all market revenue, according to James’ office.

The AGs are seeking an injunction to bar the two companies from allegedly scheming and proposes a possible restructuring of the businesses to maintain competition.

“Redfin strongly disagrees with the allegations and is confident we will be vindicated by a court of law,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement. “Our partnership with Zillow has given Redfin.com visitors access to more rental listings and our advertising customers access to more renters. By the end of 2024, it was clear that the existing number of Redfin advertising customers couldn’t justify the cost of maintaining our rentals sales force. Partnering with Zillow cut those costs and enabled us to invest more in rental-search innovations on Redfin.com, directly benefiting apartment seekers.”

A Zillow spokesperson said the company maintains that its partnership with Redfin is “pro-competitive and pro-consumer by connecting property managers to more high-intent renters so they can fill their vacancies and more renters can get home.”

Shares of Zillow and Redfin’s parent company Rocket Companies initially traded lower following the announcement, after each losing ground on Tuesday following the FTC’s lawsuit.

The FTC’s complaint cites a similar alleged scheme between the two companies. Zillow and Redfin both disagreed with those allegations and said they remained confident in their partnership.



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Pine Labs, Groww & more: Top stocks to watch on April 16 – The Times of India

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Pine Labs, Groww & more: Top stocks to watch on April 16 – The Times of India


Citigroup initiated its coverage of Pine Labs with a buy rating and a target price of Rs 235. Analysts said that India’s payments fintech is on a monetization improvement trajectory, with leading players increasingly entrenched in respective core areas of leadership. While product, services and distribution build-outs into comprehensive plays will continue across the fintech ecosystem, large players don’t face significant disruption risks owing to: Across-the-board profitability push; rising regulatory costs and compliance requirements; and stickiness borne out of integration into enterprise business workflows. Further, while consumer payments have seen flux in competitive positioning in the past decade, there have been relatively fewer changes in positioning and leadership within segments in merchant payments.BoFA Securities has initiated its coverage of Groww (Billionbrains Garage Ventures) with a buy rating and a target price of Rs 235. Analysts said Groww is well positioned to capitalize on India’s retail investing tailwinds and they expect compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) for revenue at 30% over FY26-FY28. The company produces best-in-class profitability with further upside from operating leverage. Analysts have valued Groww at 39x FY28E price-to-earnings. They, however, said that the near-term risks for the stock are a weak capital market performance and the expiry of the six-month lock-in of shares post-IPO.Elara Capital initiated its coverage of Jindal Saw with a buy rating and a target price of Rs 280. Analysts said earnings recovery is expected over FY27–FY28, driven by water, and oil & gas demand. The company’s order book is at an all-time high, indicating strong visibility. They also feel Jal Jeevan Mission spending revival to drive domestic pipe demand, while the global pipeline capex is supported by energy security concerns. Analysts also pointed out that exports are rising, with diversification reducing dependence on domestic capex. The company’s capacity expansion to support margins and operating leverage. They feel the stock’s valuations are attractive, with rerating potential driven by execution and growth.Jefferies has downgraded Indus Towers to underperform from buy with a target price cut to Rs 375 from Rs 530. Analysts downgrade the stock due to site-renewal risks bunched up over second half of 2026 (H2CY26) and first half of 2027 (H1CY27) which could impact revenues and growth. Elevated capex levels due to higher growth and maintenance capex which will impact earnings growth as well free cash flow and payouts. They cut Indus Towers’ revenue and profit after tax (PAT) estimates by 2-6% to factor renewal risks post which stock offers 3% EPS growth and a 4% yield. They said risks on growth outlook should weigh on re-rating potential too.Kotak Institutional Equities has a buy on Ujjivan SFB with a target price of Rs 72. Analysts said that the RBI has returned Ujjivan SFB’s application for a universal bank license, citing need for further loan portfolio diversification. While the outcome is clearly not favourable, the regulator has flagged no concerns relating to governance, compliance or operational soundness. Analysts said their investment thesis did not factor in any benefit from a potential transition to a universal bank. Hence, they maintained a buy but remained watchful of any sharp changes in asset mix strategy in response to RBI’s feedback.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)



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China’s hits economic growth target despite Iran war disruption

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China’s hits economic growth target despite Iran war disruption



The better-than-expected GDP data comes as Asian countries have been hit hard by the impact of the conflict.



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Geelong fire: Blaze at Australian oil refinery to impact petrol supplies

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Geelong fire: Blaze at Australian oil refinery to impact petrol supplies



The fire has deepened fears over the nation’s petrol supplies amid a global crunch.



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