ZPG

The deal was agreed with the Daily Mail and General Trust, which has held a substantial stake in ZPG since 2012 when its own online business merged with Zoopla.

Alex Chesterman, founder and chief executive of ZPG, said: "Silver Lake is the global leader in technology investing and I am firmly of the belief that ZPG will benefit from their technology expertise and global network which will help accelerate our growth."

"ZPG is a great growth technology company," said Silver Lake managing director Simon Patterson.

Investors in ZPG will receive 490p a share - almost a third higher than its closing price on Thursday.

Silver Lake Management is paying £2.2bn for ZPG, which also owns the PrimeLocation and SmartNewHomes websites.