Daily Mail Group Closes US Property Data Firm

British media group the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) has shut down its US real estate data intelligence firm Xceligent, following a multimillion-dollar lawsuit with rival CoStar.

Xceligent provided property and listing information for the commercial real estate industry, along with property research and a full suite of marketing tools to help agents reach a wider audience. CoStar claimed that hundreds of Xceligent employees and agents created thousands of CoStar accounts to steal data from its web sites. The firm sued Xceligent a year ago, and Xceligent responded in June with an antitrust lawsuit. Then in October, DMGT fired Xceligent founder and CEO Doug Curry, citing 'disappointing revenue growth'.

DMGT has now announced that the Xceligent Board has decided to file for Chapter 7 liquidation, and that full responsibility for all current litigation will be taken on by the Chapter 7 trustee. In addition, DMGT was clear that it holds no liability for any future costs associated with the litigation.

Yesterday, Xceligent acting CEO Jody Vanarsdale told staff to pack up their personal belongings and leave the building. In a statement, the parent company said: 'Everyone at DMGT is grateful to the Xceligent team for their hard work and wishes them well for the future'.

Web site: www.dmgt.com .