Idealista's Owners Reportedly Considering IPO and Sale Options

According to the Spanish newspaper el Economista, the owners of Idealista are considering floating the real estate portal business on the stock market.

The news may not come as a surprise as the prospect of Idealista going public has been around for some time.

Back in 2020, the British private equity fund Apax Partners sold the Madrid-based portal company for €1.3 billion having reportedly grown frustrated with the company's lack of progress towards an IPO. The buyer was Swedish private equity fund EQT which subsequently sold off tranches of the company's shares to Oakley Capital and back to Apax Partners.

The newspaper also notes that Idealista's three owners are not ruling out a direct sale of the company given the complexity of the current market.

Idealista operates market-leading real estate platforms in its native Spain as well as Portugal. The market is more hotly contested in Italy where Idealista bought out the number three player Casa.it back in 2020 but according to claims from at least one local expert, Idealista can be considered the market leader in Italy as well.

Idealista Assets

The timing of the news may be related to a predicted slowdown in the Spanish real estate market which might see the company's revenue numbers stagnate somewhat.