By Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine
Star) | Updated May 20, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - Global property
portal Lamudi has gobbled up local counterpart MyProperty.ph in a move seen to
strengthen the online real estate market in the Philippines.
In a press briefing yesterday, Lamudi
Philippines managing director Jacqueline van den Ende said MyProperty.ph was
acquired from Get Sold Corp., a joint venture between Summit Media and its
Swiss Media Group partner.
“It was the first acquisition for Lamudi
worldwide in all of our 33 countries and now we’re looking into some deals in
some other countries as well,” Van den Ende said.
Van den Ende, however, declined to
disclose the acquisition cost.
With the acquisition, Lamudi
Philippines and MyProperty.ph will merge to become the leading property portal
in the Philippines.
The companies, however, will continue
to operate individually as both seek to grow their existing brands in the
country’s thriving online property sphere.
Kian Moini, Lamudi Global’s co-founder
and managing director, said the acquisition will result in knowledge sharing
between the two businesses and improvements to the overall customer experience
for online property seekers.
“By acquiring MyProperty, we are combining the
two strongest players in the Philippines to create the go-to destination for
both house-hunters to find their new dream home, and for brokers and developers
to market their properties online,” Moini said.
“This acquisition consolidates the market to
improve the value provided to all Lamudi and MyProperty users: that is,
house-hunters, real estate brokers, and developers. This added value is in
terms of an increase in the number of quality listings by merging the
controlled content,” he added.
Lamudi officials said funding for the acquisition
was sourced from an $18-million investment capital it received last Feburary
to expand its operations in Asia and Latin America.
“With a rapidly rising Internet
penetration rate and a tech-savvy population, Lamudi is committed to become the
leading portal in the Philippines,” Moini said.
Lamudi Philippines is part of the
global Lamudi network, which covers more than 30 countries across Asia, Africa,
the Middle East, and Latin America. The local branch currently hosts more than
80,000 residential and commercial property listings.
Established in September 2010,
MyProperty.ph meanwhile is one of the leading Philippine real estate online and
print brands with about 200,000 pre-selling, for sale and for rent property
listings.
______________________________________________________________