Singapore real estate startup PropertyGuru Pte has agreed to acquire all of the shares in REA Group Ltd.’s operating entities in Malaysia and Thailand, marking the biggest acquisition in its 14-year history. PropertyGuru will take over iProperty.com.my and Brickz.my in Malaysia and thinkofliving.com and Prakard.com in Thailand from Australia’s REA Group, the Southeast Asian company said in a statement on Monday.
As part of the deal, REA, 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. No price has been disclosed for the deal. “
We are investing in these markets as they emerge out of Covid in the coming years,” Chief Executive Officer Hari V. Krishnan said in an interview with Bloomberg TV’s Haslinda Amin and Rishaad Salamat. “Some of the macro mega trends like urbanization, digitization, the emergence of the middle class, remain in place.”
The announcement comes after a flurry of deal-making by the most valuable startups in the region. Ride-hailing and payments giant Gojek and e-commerce leader Tokopedia announced earlier this month they will combine their businesses to create the largest internet company in Indonesia.
