Countrywide agrees to £1bn buyout

Countrywide, the UK’s largest estate agency, on Friday night said it had agreed to be bought by Apollo, the US private equity company, in a deal worth £1.01bn.

Countrywide’s board recommended the offer, which was worth 590p a share by the close of trading on Friday. The bid included 510p in cash and 80p per share of Rightmove, the property website in which Countrywide owns a 21.5 per cent stake.