PropertyGuru completes acquisition of iProperty Malaysia and thinkofliving Thailand
SINGAPORE, 4 August 2021 – PropertyGuru Group (“PropertyGuru” or “the Group”), Southeast Asia’s leading property technology (“PropTech”) company 1, today announced that it has successfully completed the acquisition of iProperty Malaysia and thinkofliving, following its initial announcement on 31 May 2021.
PropertyGuru now owns all of the shares in REA Group Limited’s (ASX:REA, “REA”) entities in Malaysia and Thailand, which include iProperty.com.my and Brickz.my in Malaysia and thinkofliving.com and Prakard.com in Thailand. In exchange, REA now has an approximate
18%2 equity interest in PropertyGuru.
In addition, PropertyGuru announced, on 24 July 2021, a business combination with Bridgetown 2 Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: BTNB), a special purpose acquisition company, through which PropertyGuru plans to list its business on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”). REA has committed to subscribe for US$52 million of equity in the listed entity subject to completion of the business combination, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021 or first quarter of 2022, subject to regulatory and stockholder approvals, and other customary closing conditions. After taking into account the capital raising conducted concurrently with the business combination, REA will hold an approximate 15.8%3 stake in the listed entity and will have the right to nominate one director to the listed entity’s board.
Hari V. Krishnan, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, PropertyGuru Group, said “We are delighted to bring two strong businesses into our Group and today welcome the iProperty Malaysia and thinkofliving teams to our community of Gurus. Together, we are better positioned to deliver even more innovation to property seekers, equipping them with the insights they need to make confident decisions. By combining PropertyGuru’s strengths in technology and proprietary data with iProperty.com.my’s footprint and relationships with developers and agents, we can digitize the Malaysian property ecosystem and accelerate our goal of creating Southeast Asia’s property Trust Platform.
We welcome REA Group – a multinational property technology player, as a strategic shareholder, joining a distinguished group of technology investors, including KKR and TPG. We look forward to working together to serve property consumer preferences in Southeast Asia.”
Owen Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, REA Group, said, “The completion of this transaction creates the most compelling proptech group in Southeast Asia. As the digitisation of the property market continues to accelerate across the region, PropertyGuru is perfectly placed to build on its leadership position and capture future growth opportunities. We look forward to being part of this exciting journey.”
PropertyGuru is Southeast Asia’s #1 digital property marketplace with leading positions in the region’s Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand.1 The acquisitions, coupled with the Group’s market leadership across the region’s five major markets, strongly position PropertyGuru to capture the significant opportunities in Southeast Asia, which is estimated to become the fourth largest economy in the world by 20304.
iProperty Malaysia and thinkofliving will continue to operate separately. In the coming months, the Group will work to ensure the smooth integration of the businesses while delivering the same market leading value and services to property seekers, agents and developers. This will include leveraging collective strengths in technology, innovation, and data to offer consumers transparent and easy access to information and insights to support their homeownership aspirations in Southeast Asia.
The acquisitions will also accelerate PropertyGuru’s ambition of building the region’s property Trust Platform: a platform that connects Southeast Asia’s property markets into an efficient ecosystem that builds trusted relationships between agents, consumers, developers, valuers and banks by driving greater transparency and efficiency.
About PropertyGuru Group
PropertyGuru Group is Southeast Asia’s leading property technology company1 and the preferred destination for 37 million property seekers to find their dream home, every month. PropertyGuru and its group companies empower property seekers with more than 2.8 million real estate listings, in-depth insights, and solutions that enable them to make confident property decisions across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
PropertyGuru.com.sg was launched in 2007 and has helped to drive the Singapore property market online and has made property search transparent for the property seeker. Over the decade, the Group has grown into a high-growth technology company with a robust portfolio of leading property portals across its core markets company; award-winning mobile apps; a high quality developer sales enablement platform, FastKey; mortgage marketplace PropertyGuru Finance; and a host of other property offerings including Awards, events and publications across Asia.
2Undiluted, 16.6% on a fully diluted basis if all warrants and ESOPs are exercised.
3Undiluted, 14.9% on a fully diluted basis. Assumes no SPAC shareholders elect to have their SPAC shares redeemed for cash as permitted
4According to the Singapore Business Review, ASEAN to become world’s fourth largest economy for 2030: Singapore PM Lee, August 2018
For more information, please visit: www.PropertyGuruGroup.com; https://www.linkedin.com/company/propertyguru