Stockholders of both Compass and Anywhere Real Estate voted “overwhelmingly” to approve the proposed merger between the two firms. The shareholder approval came after the two firms held special shareholder meetings on Wednesday for the purpose of this vote.
According to a joint press press release, approximately 99% of the votes cast at Compass’s meeting “voted to approve the proposal to issue shares of Compass Class A common stock to Anywhere stockholders in connection with the merger, and approximately 72.4% of the outstanding shares of Anywhere’s common stock voted to approve the proposal to adopt the merger agreement,” at Anywhere’s meeting.
This approval comes despite three Anywhere shareholders filing three separate lawsuits against the firm in mid-December alleging that Anywhere made insufficient financial disclosures to its stockholders about the proposed merger.
Merger expected to close by Friday
The firms say they expect the merger to close by Friday, however, it is still subject to “the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.”
“We are pleased with the strong support from our and Anywhere’s stockholders in approving this transaction,” Robert Reffkin, the founder and CEO of Compass, said in a statement. “Today’s outcome reflects confidence in our shared vision to empower real estate professionals with everything they need to grow their business and better serve their clients.”
The results of these votes come just hours after the firm’s announced that the proposed merger had cleared a major antitrust review hurdle with the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements (HSR) Act of 1976 waiting period expiring last Friday. While the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) did not raise any antitrust concerns over the proposed transaction during the HSR Act waiting period, the transaction is not immune from antitrust scrutiny from the federal regulators in the future.
Compass, which announced the proposed acquisition in September of 2025, had previously stated that it expects the acquisition to close during the second half of 2026.
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