idealista May Be For Sale as Owner Frustrated by Delayed IPO

It is being reported in the Spanish press that the country’s leading portal company is for sale. The company’s majority owner, the British venture capital firm Apax Partners, is apparently looking to sell up after being frustrated in its attempts to take the company public. Apax engaged Morgan Stanley and Bank of America to bring the highly successful property portal company to the public market back in February but reportedly market conditions are hampering their efforts despite signs to the contrary such as the recent confirmation that Airbnb is to get its IPO.

There are plenty of potential buyers in line to take the 80% share of a portal company that owns market-leading property portals in both Spain and Portugal as well as the close rival to the leader in Italy and which reported a healthy set of results for 2019. KKR, who recently plunged money into PropertyGuru, as well as Zoopla owner and conspicuous Airbnb backer Silver Lake, are among several reportedly interested parties with the price thought to be in the region of €1 billion or perhaps even higher for a single buyer taking a controlling share. The remaining 20% of the business is owned by Co-Founders the Encinar brothers and César Otieza.