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UAE-based property listing portal Bayut’s parent company, EMPG, has secured a $150 million investment, led by Netherlands-based OLX Group.
EMPG, OLX and Prosus's global classifieds business have also announced their merger in Pakistan, Egypt, Lebanon and the UAE.
EMPG will be valued at $1 billion after the investment. As part of the deal, OLX Group will contribute its operations in the four countries into EMPG and will become EMPG's largest single shareholder, owning 39 percent of the company.
Haider Ali Khan, Head of EMPG - MENA said: "This merger of EMPG and OLX will allow us to better serve our customers, given that both operate brands with a strong following and will allow us to leverage existing tech and data to paint a more accurate picture of the state of affairs in the real estate industry across the region."
Besides, Bayut in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, EMPG owns and operates property portal Zameen in Pakistan, Bproperty in Bangladesh, Mubawab in North Africa and Kaidee in Thailand.
Going forward, EMPG will also operate OLX's platforms in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, and the dubizzle platform in the UAE.
"We will be making significant technology investments to provide more value to all users of property, automotive and other segments of the Dubizzle and OLX platforms," Khan added.
"This deal puts us one step further in our journey towards providing solutions in multiple markets to over a billion consumers around the world, expanding our classifieds offering significantly," said Martin Scheepbouwer, CEO of OLX Group.
(Writing by Seban Scaria, editing by Daniel Luiz)
#UAE #Bayut #EMPG #Funding #Property
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