Singapore’s PropertyGuru In Talks With SPACs For US IPO, Report Says

Singaporean real estate firm PropertyGuru is considering a listing in the U.S. via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger, Bloomberg reported.

PropertyGuru is backed by private equity firms KKR and TPG Capital.

The company is working with a financial advisor, and PropertyGuru management is holding early talks with numerous SPACs, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.

There might be a deal as soon as this year as well, according to Bloomberg, and a merger with a SPAC could see the company valued at $1 billion.

In possibly looking at a U.S. listing, PropertyGuru joins other southeast Asia startups like One Championship, a martial arts firm, and Traveloka, the region’s biggest online travel startup, Bloomberg reported.

The company previously nixed plans for an initial public offering (IPO) in 2019 on the Australian stock exchange, citing valuation concerns, Bloomberg reported.

In September, the company announced more funding, and in November it acquired Malaysia-based MyProperty Data for $1.2 million, according to Bloomberg.

PropertyGuru has been looking at expanding its product offerings after receiving the September fundraising, PYMNTS reported. The interest came amid a wave of new demand for digital alternatives for many kinds of transactions, including shopping for homes due to the lingering threat of COVID-19 all over the world.

With the September investments, PropertyGuru said it would begin moving into Vietnam and Malaysia, along with working more on growing the online marketplace.

The southeast Asia region has been diving headlong into digitization, with PropertyGuru predicting in September that 70 percent of people there would be “digital consumers” by the end of last year, citing a study by Bain & Co. and Facebook. Olivier Lim, chairman of PropertyGuru Group, said in a press release at the time that the investments it received would help “accelerate both organic and inorganic growth.”