The homepage of Zillow.com is displayed on a computer screen in Washington.

The U.S. real estate website operator Zillow is looking to acquire its rival Trulia, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The move would combine the two real estate websites with the most traffic in the United States.



Shares of both companies were up following the report. Trading on the two firms was briefly halted earlier.

Trulia's shares rose by nearly 40 percent to an all-time high, while Zilliow's shares jumped 25 percent to a record high of $157.61.

Zillow, which has a market value of about $5 billion, could value Trulia at as much as $2 billion in a purchase, and a deal could be announced as soon as next week, reported Bloomberg.