Douglas Elliman Stock Spiked Following Anywhere Takeover Bid

Douglas Elliman didn’t even need a done deal to send its share price climbing.

After news that Anywhere floated a takeover bid at roughly double the residential brokerage’s stock price, shares jumped over 35 percent in a single day to close last week trading at $2.90. The stock maintained those gains to open trading after the Memorial Day holiday at an even $3.

If the deal is confirmed, investors would still be getting in at a discount to Anywhere’s rumored offer of $4 per share, which Bloomberg first reported last Friday.

A source told the outlet that Elliman was not likely to accept the bid, but the gains add to the firm’s uphill momentum from years of mounting losses and debt that came to a head last year.

The company recorded a $6 million net loss in the first quarter of this year, down from the nearly $42 million it lost during the same time last year. Elliman also reported $137 million in cash, with just a $50 million convertible bond taken out from private equity investor Kennedy Lewis last year on the other side of the ledger.

The stock jump pushes Elliman’s valuation up to $257 million, compared to Anywhere’s market capitalization of $373 million. Elliman’s market cap was under $150 million as of October — a fraction of the $900 million it counted three years earlier.

Roughly a year ago, Elliman had reported the latest in a string of quarterly losses and its stock price was hovering around $1. The firm’s leadership came under increased scrutiny after allegations of sexual assault and rape surfaced against Tal and Oren Alexander, who spent a decade at the firm as star brokers before leaving in 2022.

CEO Howard Lorber abruptly stepped down in October. The firm initially claimed the exit was his choice for retirement, but the Wall Street Journal later reported he was pressured by the board after an internal probe and concerns of a “sexually charged” work culture.

But even by Lorber’s exit, the company’s stock had bounced up to roughly $1.80, and continued to rise after Michael Liebowitz took over. The newly minted chief executive old The Real Deal in an interview at the time he planned to take the firm “in a different direction.”

Anywhere’s stock closed almost 4 percent higher on Friday following the news, and opened another 2.7 percent higher on Tuesday.