Hong Kong-headquartered EQT Non-public Capital Asia has has reached an settlement to purchase PropertyGuru Group (PropertyGuru), a number one property expertise firm in Southeast Asia (SEA), for $1.1 billion in money.
Main shareholders of PropertyGuru are TPG (by TPG Asia VI SF and TPG Asia VI SPV, in its capability as common associate of TPG Asia VI Digs), which owns round 26.5%, and KKR (by Epsilon Asia Holdings II) which owns round 29.6% of the agency. Each have entered into voting and assist agreements with the corporate and EQT Non-public Capital Asia in assist of the deal.
PropertyGuru’s board of administrators, appearing upon the advice of a particular committee, unanimously accredited the deal and recommends approval of the merger by PropertyGuru’s shareholders, in keeping with an August 16 announcement.
The provide is the same as $6.70 per share and represents a 52% premium to PropertyGuru’s closing share value on Might 21, 2024, the final unaffected buying and selling day previous to media hypothesis concerning a possible transaction, and a 75% and 86% premium to the corporate’s 30-day and 90-day volume-weighted common share value, respectively, for the interval ending Might 21, 2024, the announcement mentioned.
The transaction is predicted to shut in This fall 2024 or Q1 2025, topic to closing situations, together with approval by PropertyGuru’s shareholders and receipt of regulatory approvals.
Upon completion of the transaction, PropertyGuru’s shares will now not commerce on the New York Inventory Change (NYSE), and PropertyGuru will turn out to be a non-public firm. PropertyGuru’s headquarters will stay in Singapore.
Moelis & Firm is a monetary advisor to the particular committee and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer acted as its authorized counsel. Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) is the monetary advisor to EQT Non-public Capital Asia, and Ropes & Grey is appearing as authorized advisor to EQT Non-public Capital Asia. JP Morgan Securities Asia Non-public is monetary adviser to KKR and TPG, and Latham & Watkin is authorized adviser to KKR and TPG.
PropoertyGuru has a plan to merge with associates of BPEA Non-public Fairness Fund VIII after which the corporate can be acquired by EQT Non-public Capital Asia.
Development potential
The agency was based in 2007 by Steve Melhuish and Jani Rautiainen, and offers digital property marketplaces for property seekers, actual property brokers, property builders, banks and valuers throughout Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. PropertyGuru listed on NYSE in March 2022 and raised $254 million in a particular goal acquisition (SPAC) cope with Bridgetown 2 Holdings, which was backed by Richard Li and Peter Thiel.
Hari Krishnan, chief government officer & managing director, PropertyGuru, mentioned in a press release, “We’re happy to embark on this new chapter with EQT. This partnership follows years of transformative development, supported by TPG and KKR, which has established us as SEA’s main proptech platform.”
Krishnan added: “As we proceed to innovate and ship worth to our customers, prospects, and stakeholders throughout the area, EQT’s world experience in constructing marketplaces and dedication to sustainable development will additional strengthen our imaginative and prescient to energy communities to stay, work, and thrive in tomorrow’s cities.”
Giving a sign of the agency’s future as a non-public firm, Janice Leow, associate within the EQT Non-public Capital Asia advisory group and head of EQT Non-public Capital SEA, mentioned: “PropertyGuru has firmly established itself because the main property market platform in SEA, and we’re deeply impressed by the sturdy basis it has constructed over the previous 17 years in addition to with its proficient group.”
Leow added: “We imagine our provide offers shareholders with compelling worth and certainty, whereas strategically positioning PropertyGuru to completely harness its long-term development potential. With EQT’s important expertise within the expertise, on-line classifieds and market sectors, we purpose to additional strengthen PropertyGuru’s platform, driving enhanced innovation and deeper engagement with its customers, prospects and stakeholders.”
EQT fund buys Korean recycler; seeks $12.5bn increase
In anoher transfer on the Swedish funding agency, EQT Infrastructure VI has purchased KJ Setting from Genesis Non-public Fairness, for an undisclosed sum. The concept is to determine “a scaled and diversified end-to-end waste therapy scheme platform centered on plastic recycling and waste-to-energy in South Korea”, in keeping with a media launch.
KJ Setting works throughout recyclable waste sorting, plastic recycling and waste-to-energy. It has websites within the Better Seoul Metropolitan Space, serving catchment areas protecting greater than 50% of the nation’s inhabitants and its GDP.
The acquisition is EQT’s second infrastructure funding in South Korea.
Sang Jun Suh, associate within the EQT infrastructure advisory group, commented within the launch: “We sit up for making use of EQT’s in depth expertise investing in sustainable waste and recycling options throughout geographies, mixed with our sturdy native footprint and industrial community, to assist KJ Setting elevate into a real market chief within the waste therapy house.”
The corporate provides to EQT’s world portfolio of firms which have interaction in waste-related enterprise and builds on EQT’s observe report of supporting infrastructure firms in Asia Pacific (Apac). Since 2020, EQT Infrastructure has invested €5 billion ($5.52 billion) of fairness, together with co-investment, in Apac firms. The portfolio managed by EQT’s infrastructure group in Asia Pacific employs round 11,000 folks.
The transaction is topic approvals and is predicted to shut in This fall 2024. EQT was suggested by JP Morgan on financials, Kim & Chang for authorized, and PwC for monetary and tax.
With this transaction, EQT Infrastructure VI is predicted to be 45-50% based mostly on track fund dimension and topic to customary regulatory approvals.
In the meantime, EQT is trying to increase round $12.5 billion for EQT Non-public Capital Asia’s BPEA Non-public Fairness Fund IX, in keeping with an announcement issued on August 14.
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