The PropertyGuru app provides real estate listings in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Courtesy of PropertyGuru
EQT Private Capital Asia, an Asian buyout fund backed by Hong Kong-based billionaire Jean Salata, has agreed to acquire Singapore-based online real estate platform PropertyGuru in an all-cash deal worth $1.1 billion.
The deal will see PropertyGuru shareholders receive $6.70 per share, representing a 52% premium to PropertyGuru's closing price on May 21, the last trading day not affected by public reports about the potential transaction, EQT said in a statement on Friday.
“We believe our proposal delivers attractive value and certainty to shareholders whilst strategically positioning PropertyGuru to realise its full long-term growth potential,” Janice Leow, partner in EQT Private Capital Asia's advisory team and head of EQT Private Capital Southeast Asia, said in a statement.
Pending shareholder and regulatory approval, the deal is expected to close by the first quarter of next year. US private equity firms KKR and TPG, which together own 56% of PropertyGuru, have approved the deal.
Once the transaction is complete, PropertyGuru will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange and become a privately held company, but will remain headquartered in Singapore.
The deal was part of EQT's plans to raise $12.5 billion for a new Asia-focused fund to be managed by EQT Private Capital Asia.
“EQT's global expertise in building marketplaces and commitment to sustainable growth will further strengthen our vision of empowering communities to live, work and thrive in the cities of tomorrow,” Hari V Krishnan, CEO and managing director at PropertyGuru, said in a statement.
Australian property company REA Group, controlled by billionaire Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, owns more than 17 percent of PropertyGuru. The company expects to receive about A$286 million (US$189.6 million) from the sale, according to a separate statement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
PropertyGuru was launched 17 years ago and now has over 46,000 agents and 2.1 million property listings across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, with over 28 million monthly active users.
Salata, a Chilean national, has lived and worked in Hong Kong since 1989. With a net worth of $6.5 billion, he was ranked 12th in Hong Kong's 50 Richest People list, released in February. In 2000, he led the management buyout of Baring Private Equity Asia, which was acquired two years later by Swedish private equity firm EQT in a $7.5 billion cash and stock deal. Salata has now combined Baring and EQT's Asian businesses, rebranded as EQT Private Capital Asia.
