Hürriyet Emlak purchases analytics startup Innobil

Hürriyet Emlak, Turkey’s leading online real estate marketplace, founded in 2006 to bring the Turkish real estate sector under one roof, continues its investments in technology. Hürriyet Emlak acquired the data analytics company Innobil to expand both its technology team as well as enhance the products that the company provides to its users and customers. Innobil developed a platform called Xenn.io that collects and interrogates data from web and mobile systems, generates algorithms and produces personalized outputs resulting from the behavioral actions of users on a platform.

Post the acquisition, the Innobil staff joined the Hürriyet Emlak team adding to the company’s technical and analytical staff compliment. Yıldırım Adıgüzel, the founder of Innobil and one of the well-known names in Turkish Software and Technology development circles, was appointed CTO at Hürriyet Emlak (Technology Director).

Hürriyet Emlak CEO, Theo Mseka, affirmed that 2019 will be the year in which the digital transformation of Hürriyet Emlak will be accelerated and added “We have increased our technical strength with the software and data analytics company Innobil. We will continue to develop products that increase the revenue generated by our business partners through Hürriyet Emlak whilst enabling the consumer to find their perfect home a lot faster through an improved user experience within our platform.” he said.

In addition to focusing on Hürriyet Emlak’s technological enhancement Mseka added "We set ourselves the goal of having the most accurate and up to date listings published on Hürriyet Emlak in every region of Turkey. We strive to provide our users with the widest and most reliable options of real estate listings tailored for all budgets and needs. Hürriyet Emlak will continue to invest in innovative products and services by building and incorporating new capabilities into our platform and ecosystem.”

Approval from the Competition Board for the Goldman Sachs Investment

The acquisition of Innobil followed soon after the investment in Hürriyet Emlak by Goldman Sachs, the world's leading investment bank, was approved by the Competition Board of Turkey. Goldman Sachs became a minority shareholder of Hürriyet Emlak in February 2019.

Vuslat Doğan Sabancı, Chairperson of the Board of Hürriyet Emlak and a Board Member of Doğan Holding (Hürriyet Emlak’s parent company), emphasizes that Hürriyet Emlak's partnership with Goldman Sachs not only shows the strong position of the company, but also the trust and interest that foreign investors have in Turkey; "We have been the leader of the real estate industry in Turkey for the past 13 years and have taken another important step forward for the whole industry. These new investments are vital for the nation's economy, as well as for the development of the real estate and technology industries. Hürriyet Emlak, as one of the leading brands in our country, has laid the foundation of these partnerships with its financial strength, innovative products and services, country-wide service network, superior technological infrastructure and trustworthiness. Our aim is to continue to improve and strengthen this ecosystem for all of our stakeholders and customers."

Vuslat Doğan Sabancı added, "We believe Turkey has great potential in the real estate industry. Thanks to the boost that will come from our new partnership with Goldman Sachs and the acquisition of Innobil, we will continue to launch new revenue models while increasing our data analytics-based focus, in the upcoming period. It is still our top priority to provide the best possible experience for our customers and partners.”

Hürriyet Emlak is passionate about presenting a fast, transparent and practical real estate search experience using data to empower the consumer to make a more informed decision about where to live or invest. Theo Mseka says, "We're proud to have Goldman Sachs, a global powerhouse, believe in Hürriyet Emlak’s vision for the future. This investment will accelerate the generation of additional value for the consumer as well as our primary and secondary market client bases. The acquisition of Innobil is the first of many investments and partnerships involving Hürriyet Emlak in the near future as we continue our quest to deliver value to Turkey’s real estate sector."

SOURCE Hürriyet Emlak

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