Southeast Asia PropTech firm PropertyGuru Group announced on Wednesday it has 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 Ltd’s 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 percent equity interest in PropertyGuru.
iProperty Malaysia and thinkofliving will continue to operate separately, PropertyGuru said. In the coming months, the group will work to ensure the smooth integration of the businesses while delivering the same value and services to property seekers, agents, and developers.
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.
“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,” PropertyGuru Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Hari V. Krishnan said.
PropertyGuru has announced on July 24 its plans to merge with NASDAQ-listed Bridgetown 2 Holdings Ltd, a special purpose acquisition company, through which PropertyGuru plans to list its business on the New York Stock Exchange.
REA has committed to subscribe for $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 percent stake in the listed entity and will have the right to nominate one director to the listed entity’s board.
PropertyGuru is Southeast Asia’s number one digital property marketplace with leading positions in the region’s Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand. 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 2030.
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 portfolio of property portals across its core markets company; mobile apps; a developer sales enablement platform, FastKey; mortgage marketplace PropertyGuru Finance; and a host of other property offerings including awards, events, and publications across Asia.