zillowtrulianew1Zillow is pushing back its proposed $3.5 billion merger with Trulia, noting in a SEC filing that it would not consummate the transaction prior Feb. 1 2015. The delay comes after the Federal Trade Commission requested more information on the deal.

The Trulia and Zillow tie-up could still happen before Feb. 2015, if the FTC comes to a conclusion sooner.

Zillow said in a filing that it anticipates the deal to close in the first half of 2015. The proposed merger is under scrutiny by the FTC.

Spencer Rascoff
Spencer Rascoff

Zillow’s case for the merger may be helped by the fact that News Corp. has agreed to acquire rival Move Inc., operator of Realtor.com, for $950 million. The National Association of Realtors, which is affiliated with Move, reportedly wants to block the Trulia and Zillow deal.

Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff has argued that a combined Zillow and Trulia would control just four percent of the overall advertising spend in the real estate sector in the U.S.

“Most advertising still occurs offline, it hasn’t migrated to the internet yet,” Rascoff told CNN earlier this year. The companies also have said that they plan to maintain the Zillow and Trulia brands, and keep prices competitive on advertising rates.

Shares of Zillow have slumped in the past three months, down about 20 percent. Since the merger was announced on July 28, shares are off 33 percent. Zillow is now valued at roughly $4.3 billion.

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