Almost-unicorn PropertyGuru’s missed IPO exit

The largest property classified business in Southeast Asia, PropertyGuru was hoping to be valued at a market capitalisation of $790 million after its IPO. But it withdrew the offering, and is down to almost 3% of that amount in cash and current assets. Looks like it’ll be a tough choice between profitability and growth

Though it boasts strong business fundamentals, PropertyGuru is actually not as profitable as it claims

The Australian Securities Exchange, where the company filed the IPO, lost nearly $1.5 billion first-time share sales in 2019 alone

Private equity investors were not keen on an exit either. And WeWork’s botched IPO did not help matters

The nature of the PE is to exit, argue analysts. It’s up to the companies to decide how and when to prepare for it, they say

Southeast Asia’s largest property classified business—PropertyGuru— looked all set to stage a rare Southeast Asia exit this year. It filed for a $256-million initial public offering (IPO) on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on 7 October.

On 23 October—a mere two days before the shares were set to trade—it cancelled the listing, citing market uncertainty. Its newly-appointed chairman, Olivier Lim, said PropertyGuru had a committed existing shareholder base and access to private capital markets in case it needed new funds.

The company had raised $125 million from Private Equity (PE) firms such as American firm TPG Capital, Indonesian media conglomerate Emtek Group, and Australian PE firm Square Peg Capital.

AUTHOR

Ka Kay Lum

Based in Kuala Lumpur, Ka Kay covers investment activities, aka following the money, across Southeast Asia and in-depth stories on the often-overlooked Malaysian startup ecosystem. She was previously a regional writer for Nikkei-owned DealStreetAsia.

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