Apartments.com is in talks with a handful of potential bidders after its newspaper backers put the business on the block last month, The Post has learned.
Among those interested in the apartment-rental service are: Realtor.com, the website of the National Association of Realtors; property site Trulia; and News Corp., which owns REA Group, Australia’s largest property site. (The Post is also part of News Corp.)
The apartment business is owned by Classified Ventures, whose largest backer is Tribune Co., with a 28 percent stake. The other media owners include A.H. Belo, Gannett, McClatchy and The Washington Post Co.
Tribune’s stakes in Classified Ventures and sibling joint venture CareerBuilder.com are reportedly worth nearly $700 million.
With the housing market on the upswing, publicly traded Trulia and rival Zillow have seen their stock prices soar, prompting Classified Ventures to pursue a sale.
In September, the owners said they had retained boutique bank Moelis and Co. to explore options for the business, which includes Apartments.com, RentalHomesPlus.com and Apartment HomeLiving.com.
Reps for Chicago-based Classified Ventures, Moelis and the potential bidders all declined to comment.