Institutional Investors KKR and TPG Reportedly Considering PropertyGuru Buyout

The Sinagpore-based real estate portal operator PropertyGuru may be close to being taken private just two years after going public via a SPAC deal.

According to sources originally quoted by Bloomberg, private equity firms KKR and TPG are looking to raise capital to buy out the Southeast Asian property portal operator and de-list the company from the New York Stock Exchange. The rumours have been widely reported in local news outlets.

The sources, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the two US-based investment firms are in the early stages of working with a financial advisor to gauge interest from other investors. KKR and TPG, which own around 26.5% and 29.6% of PropertyGuru respectively, may choose to go it alone and buy out the remaining shares without third parties.

Any takeover deal would have to involve the Australian real estate portal company REA Group which took on a significant shareholding in the business in 2021 as part of a deal to sell its Malaysian assets to PropertyGuru in 2021.

PropertyGuru owns and operates leading real estate marketplaces in Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand as well as a financial services division. The company relies heavily on its native Singaporean real estate marketplace business, accounting for more than 63% of its revenue in Q1.