PropertyGuru to go public in merger with SPAC backed by Richard Li, Peter Thiel (updated)

PropertyGuru

24/07/2021 09:16

(Adds deal detail)
    July 23 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian online realty company
PropertyGuru on Friday agreed to go public through a merger with
a blank-check firm backed by billionaires Richard Li and Peter
Thiel, giving the combined company an equity value of about
$1.78 billion.
    The deal with Bridgetown 2 Holdings  BTNB.O , a special
purpose acquisition company (SPAC), is expected to fetch
proceeds of $431 million, including a private investment of $100
million from Baillie Gifford, Naya, REA Group  REA.AX , Akaris
Global Partners, and one of Malaysia's largest asset managers.  
    Australia's REA Group has also committed to an additional
$32 million investment, PropertyGuru said.
    The combined company will be listed on the New York Stock
Exchange once the deal is finalised, PropertyGuru said in a
statement.
    The transaction is a major development for PropertyGuru
which had planned to list in Australia in October 2019 when it
tried to raise about $A380 million. 
    A listing never happened though and the float was pulled,
which the company attributed to uncertain market conditions at
the time. 
    Founded in 2007, PropertyGuru hosts more than 2.8 million
monthly real estate listings. It serves 37 million property
seekers a month and 49,000 active property agents across
Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
    The company offers digital property marketplaces to match
buyers and tenants with sellers and landlords, as well as
digital marketing for property agents and developers.
    "The market for property is probably the oldest market in
the world, and only now is it beginning to change rapidly," said
Peter Thiel, president of Thiel Capital. 
    "As PropertyGuru spearheads that change in Southeast Asia,
Bridgetown 2 will provide capital and expertise to accelerate it
even further," he said.
    The combined company will have an enterprise value of about
$1.35 billion. The deal is expected to close in the fourth
quarter of 2021 or the first quarter of 2022. 
    Merrill Lynch (Singapore) Pte Ltd is serving as exclusive
financial advisor to PropertyGuru on the deal.
    Merrill Lynch, Citigroup C.N , KKR Capital Markets and TPG
Capital were the placement agents to Bridgetown 2.

 (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; additional
reporting Scott Murdoch in Hong Kong, Editing by Devika
Syamnath, Robert Birsel)
 ((noor.hussain@thomsonreuters.com; Within U.S. +1 646 223 8780;
Outside U.S. +91 80 6182 2663 or +91 80 3796 2663 ;))