EQT to Acquire Southeast Asian PropTech PropertyGuru

Global investment organization EQT plans to acquire PropertyGuru Group Limited, a PropTech company operating in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The companies entered into an agreement and plan of merger that values PropertyGuru at an equity value of about $1.1 billion, according to a Friday (Aug. 16) press release.

Subject to customary closing conditions, the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter or the first quarter of 2025, according to the release. At that time, PropertyGuru will become a private company, and its shares will no longer trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

PropertyGuru has established itself as a property marketplace platform in Southeast Asia over the past 17 years, Janice Leow, partner in the EQT Private Capital Asia advisory team and head of EQT Private Capital Southeast Asia, said in the release.

“With EQT’s significant experience in the technology, online classifieds and marketplace sectors, we aim to further strengthen PropertyGuru’s platform, driving enhanced innovation and deeper engagement with its consumers, customers and stakeholders,” Leow said.

Hari V. Krishnan, CEO and managing director of PropertyGuru Group, said in the release that the partnership comes after years of growth achieved by the company.

“As we continue to innovate and deliver value to our consumers, customers and stakeholders across the region, EQT’s global expertise in building marketplaces and commitment to sustainable growth will further strengthen our vision to power communities to live, work and thrive in tomorrow’s cities,” Krishnan said.

PropertyGuru said in 2020, as it was expanding into Vietnam and Malaysia, that Southeast Asia was seeing explosive growth in digital adoption, with 70% of people in the region expected to be “digital consumers” by the end of that year.

In 2021, the company said it was seeing a wave of new demand for digital alternatives for many kinds of transactions, including shopping for homes, in the wake of the pandemic.

As for EQT, it completed a go-private acquisition of B2B order-to-cash software provider Billtrust in December 2022. When announcing the acquisition in September 2021, EQT said both companies are committed to innovation and transformation; have experience at the intersection of software, FinTech and payments; and aim to help customers streamline their finance operations.