FTC Approves Modified Final Order Settling Charges that CoStar’s $860 Million Acquisition of LoopNet was Anticompetitive

WASHINGTON, D.C. – August 30, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a modified final order settling charges that CoStar Group, Inc.’s $860 million acquisition of Loopnet would have been anticompetitive in the market for commercial real estate information services in the United States. The modified final order resolving the charges preserves competition that otherwise would have been lost through the acquisition by requiring the combined firm to sell LoopNet’s interest in Xceligent, a significant provider of U.S. commercial real estate information.