EQT Completes Acquisition of PropertyGuru Group

PropertyGuru Group has been acquired by EQT Private Capital Asia for $1.1 billion.

The deal, completed on Friday, will see the Group delisted from the New York Stock Exchange after EQT paid $6.70 for every share in the business.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Singapore, PropertyGuru is Southeast Asia’s leading property technology platform, connecting over 31 million property seekers with more than 50,000 agents across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam each month.

The Group went public two years ago with shares reaching a high of $9 shortly after debuting on the market in March 2022.

But share prices stalled and settled at between $4-5 for the majority of its life as a public company.

Share prices dipped to historic lows in 2024, with EQT submitting a $1.1 billion takeover bid for PropertyGuru in August 2024.

At the time, the offer represented 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 takeover.

The bid was approved in August and rubberstamped by shareholders in October.

"We are pleased to announce the successful completion of this transaction and we welcome EQT to PropertyGuru. Over the past seventeen years, our growth has been enabled by strong partnerships with our shareholders, led by TPG and KKR. On behalf of everyone at PropertyGuru, I want to thank them for their support and I am proud that we have delivered a solid financial exit for our long-term investors.

"On behalf of our group leadership team, I thank our Gurus for their hard work and the wonderful business we have built together, and our customers and partners for their continued trust and partnership. EQT shares our commitment to our continued sustainable growth, and we look forward to working with them towards our Group’s vision to power, communities to live, work and thrive in tomorrow’s cities."

EQT, itself publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange, will be tasked with making PropertyGuru profitable. The Group's latest financial filing, for Q2 2024, showed widening net losses ahead of its privatisation, with shares ceasing trading on Friday.

Healthy revenue growth at PropertyGuru has historically been driven primarily by its clear market leadership in its native Singapore, where revenues have risen steadily quarter-on-quarter since 2023.

But the Group has struggled to scale in other segments and markets, and full-year revenue growth slowed considerably in 2023:

EQT [will] harness its deep expertise in scaling digital marketplace and classifieds businesses to drive technology innovation, operational excellence, and market expansion

[The acquisition] sets the stage for PropertyGuru to capitalize on urbanization, middle-class growth, and digitalization trends across the region’s dynamic real estate markets.

"PropertyGuru has redefined the property technology landscape in Southeast Asia, standing out for its innovation and leadership in delivering solutions that empower millions across the region. Drawing on EQT's expertise in technology-driven businesses, with a strong focus on marketplace and classifieds platforms, we look forward to supporting PropertyGuru in exploring new opportunities, enhancing its offerings, and driving its next phase of growth while contributing to the evolution of the property market in Southeast Asia."

"In March 2022 PropertyGuru listed on the New York Stock Exchange via the Bridgetown 2 SPAC. The initial valuation was USD 1.8 billion. Two years later, in March this year, the market cap had dropped by 70 percent to around USD 500m making PropertyGuru a very attractive target for PE firms.

"The sale of PropertyGuru for USD 1.1 billion, while a 40 percent discount on its listing valuation, is probably a fair price given the performance of the business as it represents 7 times revenue.

"Taking the business private will allow EQT to revamp operations, cut costs where needed, focus growth on where there is real value (e.g. not Indonesia), and execute all of this outside the gaze of the public market. Can EQT build a SE Asian business that has a valuation of USD 2 billion or more over the next 3-5 years to justify its purchase price? This will be an easy challenge."