Sweden based EQT Private Capital Asia is set to acquire PropertyGuru, a leading property technology company in Southeast Asia, for approximately $1.1 billion. This acquisition will result in PropertyGuru being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
The deal represents a significant premium over PropertyGuru's recent share prices, reflecting the strategic value EQT sees in the company. This move is expected to bolster PropertyGuru's growth and innovation in the real estate technology sector.
On Friday today, PropertyGuru Group Limited, Southeast Asia’s leading PropTech company, announced that it has entered into an agreement and plan of merger with affiliates of BPEA Private Equity Fund VIII Limited (“EQT Private Capital Asia”), part of EQT AB, a purpose-driven global investment organization, pursuant to which the Company will be acquired by EQT Private Capital Asia in an all-cash transaction (the “Merger”) that values PropertyGuru at an equity value of approximately USD 1.1 billion.
Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the Merger, each ordinary share of the Company issued and outstanding immediately prior to the effective time (other than certain excluded shares) will be cancelled and converted automatically into the right to receive an amount in cash equal to USD 6.70 per share, without interest.
The merger consideration represents a 52% premium to PropertyGuru’s closing share price on May 21, 2024, the last unaffected trading day prior to media speculation regarding a potential transaction, and a 75% and 86% premium to the Company’s 30-day and 90-day volume-weighted average share price, respectively, for the period ending May 21, 2024.
Major shareholders, TPG Asia VI SF Pte. Ltd. and TPG Asia VI SPV GP LLC, in its capacity as general partner of TPG Asia VI Digs 1 L.P. (collectively, “TPG”) and Epsilon Asia Holdings II Pte. Ltd., an entity managed by global investment fund KKR (“KKR”), which hold a combined 56% ownership of ordinary shares outstanding, have entered into voting and support agreements with the Company and EQT Private Capital Asia in support of the Merger.
PropertyGuru was founded in 2006 by Steve Melhuish and Jani Rautiainen. The idea for PropertyGuru came from their personal frustrations with the property search process in Singapore. They aimed to create a smarter, more intuitive online platform for property seekers.
The CEO and Managing Director of PropertyGuru is Hari V. Krishnan. He has been instrumental in leading the company through significant milestones, including its successful public listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Hari has over two decades of experience in technology and digital transformation, having previously led LinkedIn in the Asia Pacific region.
PropertyGuru primarily operates in Southeast Asia, including markets like Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam1. However, it doesn’t have a significant presence in India. Instead, the Indian real estate market is dominated by local platforms like 99acres, MagicBricks, and Housing.com
EQT has been quite active in the acquisition space recently. In March 2024, EQT announced the acquisition of Equitrans Midstream, creating a vertically integrated natural gas company with an enterprise value over $35 billion. In September 2022, EQT acquired Tug Hill's upstream assets and XcL Midstream's gathering and processing assets for $5.2 billion.
In January 2021, EQT acquired 100% of the Exeter management company and a significant stake in its funds, enhancing its position in value-add real estate investing.
These acquisitions reflect EQT's strategy to expand its capabilities and market presence across various sectors.
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