KKR invests $144m in Southeast Asia's PropertyGuru

PropertyGuru claims to be the leading property portal in five Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam – where it recently completed the acquisition of local rival Batdongsan, according to a release. It will use the new capital to invest in technology and fuel further regional expansion.

Founded in 2007 by entrepreneur Steve Melhuish, PropertyGuru has raised S$436 million since its launch from investors including TPG Capital and Australia’s Square Peg Capital, as well as Indonesian media company Emtek Group. All three investors participated in the company’s S$175 million Series C round in 2015.

Its portals, which include Batdongsan in Vietnam, Rumah in Indonesia, and Thailand’s DDProperty, along with the original PropertyGuru site in Singapore and Malaysia, draw 25 million visitors per month to view over two million home listings. The company claims a 55% consumer market share across Southeast Asia’s online property industry.

Earlier this year Melhuish told AVCJ that PropertyGuru had returned to profitability after several years of losses arising from investment in expansion. At the time the company was considering an IPO by 2020.

KKR is investing from its third Asian private equity fund, which closed last year at $9.3 billion. The firm’s Southeast Asia strategy involves investing in high-growth markets that are set to benefit from a rapid increase in technology adoption.

Recent deals in the region include a $175 million commitment alongside Tencent Holdings to Voyager Innovations, a financial technology unit of Philippines telecom giant PLDT, and a $1.5 billion Series E round for Indonesian ride-hailing and delivery platform Go-Jek along with several other investors.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Technology
• Consumer
• Expansion
• Singapore
• TMT
• Growth capital
• KKR