PropertyGuru acquires REA Group's iproperty.com.my and Thailand entities

PropertyGuru Group is acquiring the shares of REA Group’s operating entities in Malaysia and Thailand: iProperty.com.my, Brickz.my, thinkofliving.com and Prakard.com. REA Group will receive an 18% equity interest in the enlarged PropertyGuru Group and appoint a director to the board. The transaction, which is expected to close in July 2021, underpins PropertyGuru's strategy of being the top property technology group in Southeast Asia.

The acquisition will retain both PropertyGuru.com.my and iProperty.com.my’s unique and complementary audiences. Both companies will combine resources, drive innovation and provide enhanced digital solutions to home seekers, property agents and developers. Also, the acquisition hopes to enable PropertyGuru to share data solutions and insights and bring greater transparency and access to the Malaysian property market. By leveraging PropertyGuru’s larger customer base, the company seeks to facilitate innovation and wider inclusion of Malaysian property agents and developers in the Southeast Asian property ecosystem.

Building on the success of REA Group’s Malaysian and Thailand businesses, PropertyGuru envisions that the transaction will provide REA with a strategic shareholding in a larger, more diversified company in a region that continues to experience rapid digital transformation across the real estate sector. PropertyGuru is present in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand. According to the company, it grew monthly visits to 35 million regionally and claims to have over 50% share in Southeast Asia. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to PropertyGuru for additional information.

Olivier Lim (pictured left), chairman of the board, PropertyGuru Group, said the laser focus on anticipating and addressing the unique needs of consumers in the region by investing in continuous innovation was a key part of PropertyGuru’s success. "We look forward to working together and cater fully to the trending consumer preferences in Southeast Asia. This will further accelerate the digitalisation of the property sector of this exciting region," Lim added.

Hari V. Krishnan (pictured centre), PropertyGuru Group's CEO and MD, said the company plans to work with REA Group to put in place a strategy that supports the combined businesses in both markets. “By combining PropertyGuru’s strengths in technology and proprietary data with iProperty.com.my’s footprint and relationships with developers and agents, we can digitise the property ecosystem and accelerate our goal of creating Southeast Asia’s property ‘trust platform’,” said Krishnan.

REA Group's CEO Owen Wilson (pictured right) 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 added.

Separately, the company recently named Remona Duquesne as director of brand overseeing Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand. The newly created role seeks to help it shape its journey beyond online property search to become Southeast Asia’s property trust platform. The director of brand position was created earlier this year when Meenakshi Shunmugham, former director, brand and consumer marketing, stepped down from her role. Meanwhile, Sushmita Mohapatra and Ryan Thoo were promoted to head of content marketing and director of consumer marketing respectively.

The company also launched a branding campaign for said finance vertical, PropertyGuru Finance, last October. The vertical offers a platform through which homeowners and buyers can, either independently or through the brand's Home Finance Advisors to discover and compare the best home loans available and access smart tools and resources to help them make home financing decisions.

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