Permira, Blackstone invest US$525 million in Dubai property portal
Global buyout groups have been building a presence in the Gulf to be closer to sovereign wealth funds and to pursue regional deals
[DUBAI] Permira and Blackstone have invested US$525 million in Dubai-based Property Finder, in a bet that the city’s real-estate market can move beyond its boom-and-bust reputation.
The private capital firms acquired a minority stake in the property classifieds website, according to a statement on Tuesday (Sep 9). General Atlantic, which invested in Property Finder in 2018, sold part of its holding in the transaction.
The companies did not disclose the valuation.
The transaction marks Permira’s first investment in the Middle East, coming months after the firm opened an office in Dubai’s financial hub. Global buyout groups have been building a presence in the Gulf to be closer to sovereign wealth funds and to pursue regional deals.
Blackstone has been active in the Middle East for many years, initially mostly for fundraising purposes, but increasingly also as an investor.
It previously invested in a local school operator and has teamed up with some regional sovereign wealth funds to pursue deals. In Saudi Arabia, it set up an infrastructure partnership with the country’s sovereign wealth fund.
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Property Finder is a popular classifieds website founded almost two decades ago, when Dubai’s property sector was first gaining traction. It competes against two other classified platforms, Dubizzle and Bayut, which is backed by Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners and has been considering an initial public offering.
Last year, Property Finder raised US$90 million in debt from Francisco Partners to help finance the buyout of its first institutional investor. It’s been expanding its operations across the region, including to Qatar, Bahrain and Egypt.
Now, it is focused on increasing its market share in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
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