KUALA LUMPUR (May 31): Singapore real estate start-up PropertyGuru Pte Ltd has agreed to acquire all of the shares in REA Group Ltd’s operating entities in Malaysia and Thailand, whose sites include iProperty.com.my and Brickz.my in Malaysia as well as thinkofliving.com and Prakard.com in Thailand.
As part of the agreement, Australia’s REA Group, which is majority-owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp empire, will get an 18% equity interest in PropertyGuru and appoint a director to its board, the Southeast Asian company said in a statement today. No price has been disclosed for the deal.
In a statement today, PropertyGuru said the move underscores the rising importance of Malaysia in Southeast Asia’s property technology (proptech) industry in general and for PropertyGuru in specific.
It added that a key objective of the transaction is to accelerate the development of the proptech industry in Malaysia.
The firm said the addition of iProperty.com.my and Brickz.my will bolster PropertyGuru Malaysia’s ability to provide consumers with the most diverse digital marketplaces, together with the most comprehensive set of data, actionable insights and services to support homeownership aspirations of Malaysians.
PropertyGuru chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director Hari V Krishnan said the acquisition is a key milestone in PropertyGuru’s history and an opportunity to integrate a trusted local brand in Malaysia and demonstrated the firm’s commitment to the market.
“We have been operating here for a decade now. Malaysia has always been of strategic importance to the group — from launching our first fintech value proposition to it being our hub for central functions such as finance.
“With this acquisition, we are more than doubling our footprint in Malaysia and we will continue to invest behind the country's critical role in PropertyGuru,” he said.
REA Group CEO Owen Wilson said joining with the PropertyGuru group creates new opportunities for collaboration and access to a deeper pool of expertise, technology and investment.
“It positions these already strong brands well to accelerate the next wave of proptech innovation in Southeast Asia,” he said.
Meanwhile, PropertyGuru Malaysia country manager Sheldon Fernandez said Malaysians had shown a strong preference for the tools and services PropertyGuru and iProperty provide to make property searches, pricing and financing options more transparent and accessible.
“We have made great progress over this past decade, but there is still a lot more work to do.
“Combining PropertyGuru’s strengths in technology and proprietary data with iProperty.com.my’s national footprint and deep relationships with developers and agents will accelerate our mission to ensure everyone has access to the data and insights they need to make confident home-buying decisions,” he said.