New York, January 9, 2026, 08:02 EST — Premarket
- Compass shares add roughly 4% in premarket trading after the company upsized and priced a convertible notes offering
- The company has also raised its fourth-quarter outlook ahead of its planned Anywhere Real Estate tie-up
- Traders are eyeing the merger’s closing and Friday’s U.S. jobs report to gauge what comes next
Compass (NYSE: COMP) shares were up 3.8% at $12.26 in Friday premarket action after the real estate brokerage set terms for an upsized $850 million convertible notes offering, as it heads toward its planned merger with Anywhere Real Estate. (Compass Investors)
Compass and Anywhere said this week the merger is expected to close on Jan. 9, pending customary closing conditions, which keeps the spotlight on financing and near-term leverage at the combined company. (Compass)
Compass also refreshed its fourth-quarter guidance in an SEC filing, saying it now expects revenue to come in at the high end of its earlier $1.59 billion to $1.69 billion range, with adjusted EBITDA at or slightly above the top end. The company said it brought on more than 800 principal agents during the quarter.
Compass said in its Jan. 8 filing that the 0.25% notes are due on April 15, 2031, with an initial conversion price of about $15.98 a share — around a 35% premium to the Jan. 7 last sale. The company said the proceeds are earmarked for general corporate purposes, including repaying some Anywhere debt at closing and covering deal-related fees, and that it also entered capped call transactions with an initial cap price of $23.68. (Securities and Exchange Commission)
Convertible notes are bonds that can later be exchanged for stock if the share price climbs. That setup can help companies borrow at lower rates, though it may dilute shareholders down the road. A capped call is an options hedge companies use to try to reduce some of that dilution, but only up to a predetermined share price level.
Robert Reffkin, Compass founder and chief executive, said the stockholder vote “reflects confidence in our shared vision” for real estate professionals. Anywhere’s brands include Century 21 and Coldwell Banker, the companies said. (PR Newswire)
Anywhere said the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust waiting period expired on Jan. 2, removing a major regulatory hurdle. Back when the deal was announced in September, BTIG analyst Jake Fuller described real estate as “a volume game” and said the combination would stand out as a clear leader with about 340,000 agents. (Securities and Exchange Commission)
Housing-stock investors are also watching the U.S. Employment Situation report at 8:30 a.m. ET, since it can quickly jolt Treasury yields and shift mortgage-rate bets. Economists polled by Reuters forecast payrolls to increase 60,000 in December, while the unemployment rate is seen slipping to 4.5%. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Still, a few things aren’t wrapped up: the merger must get through final closing mechanics, and the new financing could become a headache if markets get choppy or housing demand cools. On top of that, the deal has attracted political scrutiny, with U.S. senators pressing regulators to weigh blocking it. (Reuters)
Anywhere shares were last up 3.5% in extended trading, while brokerage rival eXp World Holdings rose about 1.6%. Traders will be looking for confirmation that the merger and note sale wrap up on Jan. 9, and also for Compass to put a date on its full-quarter results; Nasdaq lists Feb. 17 as an earnings estimate at Nasdaq.
