99.co parent acquires real estate data provider SRX

99 Group, which operates property portal 99.co, has acquired property platform and real estate data provider Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX) for an undisclosed sum.

As part of the acquisition, 99 Group will acquire all the shares in Streetsine Singapore, a subsidiary of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) - which publishes The Business Times.

99 Group will retain all SRX employees and transition and integrate the team in coming weeks, the former said in a press statement on Tuesday. It expects the transaction to complete by the second quarter of 2021.

The move will bring SRX under the same umbrella as other Singapore property platforms 99.co and iproperty.com.sg.

99 Group said this will create a widened pool of listings, information and data tools, enabling the group to offer consumers and real estate professionals in Singapore better value and more competitive packages.

99 Group chief executive Darius Cheung said: "Reliable property data is especially important as property hunting continues to shift online even though physical viewings are now allowed again, suggesting a lasting change in consumer behaviour. The real estate industry needs to digitalise accordingly to meet evolving consumer needs."

SRX chief executive Jason Barakat-Brown said: "Our businesses and teams are highly complementary and, importantly, we share a common mission to deliver the best technology and real estate expertise to inform and empower our customers."

In 2018, 99 Group acquired UrbanIndo and merged with rumah123.com to become the largest property platform in the country, it said.

Shares of SPH were trading down 1 per cent or S$0.01 to S$1.01 as at 10.19am on Tuesday.