New York, Jan 9, 2026, 12:35 EST — Regular session
- Compass shares rose about 9% after the company said it closed its all-stock combination with Anywhere Real Estate.
- Compass also sold $1 billion of convertible notes as it lined up funding tied to the deal.
- Traders are watching integration execution, housing-market volume, and potential dilution from the notes.
Shares of Compass, Inc. (NYSE: COMP) were up about 8.8% at $13.34 in midday trade on Friday after the real estate brokerage said it completed its all-stock combination with Anywhere Real Estate. Chief executive Robert Reffkin said the companies are “coming together on a single, modern technology platform,” and will be brought together under Compass International Holdings. (PR Newswire)
The tie-up pairs Compass’ owned-brokerage with Anywhere’s franchise stable, which includes brands such as Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Corcoran and Sotheby’s International Realty, and it gives Compass a much bigger footprint in a business that runs on headcount and listings. Barron’s reported the combined group would span about 340,000 real estate professionals and could push harder into consumer home-search products that challenge portals like Zillow and Redfin. (Barron’s)
Why it matters now: Compass moved to lock down financing and highlight operating momentum just as the deal’s last gates opened. A filing showed it updated fourth-quarter guidance, saying revenue should come in at the high end of its prior $1.59 billion to $1.69 billion range, while adjusted EBITDA — a cash-profit measure that strips out some costs — should be at or slightly above the top end of its earlier $35 million to $49 million outlook; it also said it added more than 800 principal agents in the quarter. The same filing said the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust waiting period expired on Jan. 2.
Under the merger terms, Anywhere shareholders received 1.436 Compass shares for each Anywhere share, a Compass filing showed. Compass also issued and sold $1.0 billion of 0.25% convertible senior notes due 2031, including an upsized portion exercised in full, and said it used the net proceeds to repay certain Anywhere debt and cover deal costs and hedging expenses. (SEC)
Convertible notes are debt today that can convert into stock later at a set price, which can dilute existing holders if the shares rise enough to trigger conversions. Compass said the notes’ initial conversion price was about $15.98 per share and it entered “capped call” transactions — options designed to limit dilution up to an initial cap price of $23.68 — while warning that hedge trades tied to that structure could move its stock. (Compass)
Anywhere’s HOUS shares stopped trading on the New York Stock Exchange after the closing, and the company asked the NYSE to file paperwork to delist and deregister the stock, a separate filing showed.
But the integration is the hard part. Execution missteps — from agent retention to aligning incentives across owned brokerages and franchises — can show up fast in a volume-driven market, and the deal’s size keeps antitrust risk in the frame even after the waiting period lapsed. The Wall Street Journal reported the merger avoided a full antitrust investigation after internal differences inside the U.S. Justice Department. (The Wall Street Journal)
Traders now turn to how quickly Compass can digest the acquisition, pay down inherited debt, and translate a bigger network into higher transaction flow as the housing market stays rate-sensitive. The next checkpoints include integration detail on the company’s next results update and additional deal financials in follow-on regulatory filings.
