While his day-to-day focus has moved from media to casinos via his shareholding in Crown (ASX: CWN), billionaire James Packer obviously still keeps his eyes and ears open for "new world" media opportunities.
No stranger to investing in early stage websites such as jobs site SEEK (ASX: SEK) and classifieds site Carsales.com (ASX: CRZ), as well as the unlisted group buying sites CatchOfTheDay and Scoopon in the past, Mr Packer has now turned his attention to website opportunities in the USA.
According to a report in the Australian Financial Review, Mr Packer has acquired a significant stake in the US-listed Zillow, which has a market capitalisation of US$3.8 billion. The move comes just days after Mr Packer raised funds by offloading his shareholding in SEEK. Zillow offers online real estate services in the USA similar to those offered by the A $5 billion REA Group (ASX: REA), owner of realestate.com.au in Australia. Mr Packer is no doubt banking on Zillow being able to replicate REA's success with suggestions that Australia is ahead of the USA in terms of the online development of its real estate offerings.
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Motley Fool contributor Tim McArthur does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article.
