Senators Urge Doj, Ftc To Review Compass-anywhere Merger For Antitrust Risk

Two U.S. senators are asking antitrust officials to consider blocking Compass’s proposed acquisition of Anywhere. 

In a letter sent Wednesday to antitrust officials at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) argue that the acquisition could harm homebuyers by contributing to higher broker fees and limiting access to property listings. 

“The combined reach of Compass and Anywhere gives them outsized influence over market practices at a time when the brokerage industry is rapidly consolidating,” the lawmakers wrote. “The proposed Compass-Anywhere merger could substantially increase market concentration, possibly in violation of federal antitrust laws, and in a way that DOJ and FTC merger guidelines recognize could lead to anticompetitive harm.”

According to the senators, the merger would result in less competition in the brokerage space, lessening the pressure to lower broker fees.

“The Compass-Anywhere merger threatens to stifle consumer choice and fair industry competition while entrenching existing antitrust and price manipulation concerns that have been at the center of mounting litigation. These risks demand close scrutiny under federal antitrust laws,” the senators wrote. 

In addition, the senators expressed concern over Compass’s three-phased marketing strategy and its usage of a private listing network.

“By keeping listings inside their own networks, large brokerages — like the one that would result from a merger of Compass and Anywhere — block rivals from this necessary input, weakening smaller firms and making it harder for new entrants to compete on equal footing,” they added.

Compass announced its all-stock deal to acquire Anywhere in mid-September. The deal gave Anywhere an enterprise value of approximately $10 billion, including the assumption of its debt. If successful, the deal would bring roughly 340,000 real estate professionals across the U.S. and in nearly 120 countries together into a shared network.

In investor presentations and earnings calls, Compass has maintained that it feels the deal is not anticompetitive. The firm told HousingWire that it did not have any additional comments on the senators’ letter.