Real Estate

Property Finder ‘likely’ to go public, says CEO

December 9, 2024, 3:38 PM

Property Finder operates websites across Mena serving more than 5.5 million monthly active users — Property Finder operates websites across Mena, serving more than 5.5 million monthly users

Michael Lahyani considers IPO
Raised $90m from Fransisco Partners
Talabat IPO on Tuesday

Property Finder, a real estate platform in the Middle East and North Africa, is likely to go public, Michael Lahyani, its CEO, said.

“It’s not something that we’re actively working on, but Property Finder is likely to be a public company at some point,” he said at Abu Dhabi Finance Week on Monday.

“It’s just another way to get access to capital or bring liquidity to shareholders.”

Founded in 2007, Property Finder operates property portals across the Middle East and North Africa, serving more than 5.5 million monthly active users.

The platform, available in English and Arabic, caters to property seekers, real estate agents and developers.

In May Property Finder raised $90 million in debt financing from Francisco Partners to buy back shares held by its first institutional investor, Beco Capital.

The transaction, one of the first of its kind in the region, marked the second billion-dollar exit for Beco.

The transaction valued Property Finder at roughly double the $500 million valuation it secured in a $120 million funding round led by General Atlantic in 2018.

Face, Happy, Head Michael Lahyani, CEO of Property Finder, says the company is not actively working on an IPO but 'another way to get access to capital' — Michael Lahyani, CEO of Property Finder, says the company is not actively working on an IPO but it is ‘another way to get access to capital’

Dubai’s residential market reported another solid performance in the third quarter of this year, with sale prices up 20 percent, rental rates up 18 percent in the first nine months of 2024 and off-plan sales accounting for 70 percent of transactions, according to a report by CBRE.

Lahyani’s comments come as the UAE prepares for the highly anticipated IPO of Talabat on Tuesday, which is expected to boost the Gulf state’s capital markets.

“Tomorrow is a very important day for the UAE stock markets,” Lahyani said.

Germany’s Delivery Hero, Talabat’s parent company, last month set the price for the IPO of the food delivery company at the top of the range.

The final IPO price was set at AED1.60 ($0.44) per share, enabling the company to raise AED7.5 billion ($2 billion).