Japanese telco Softbank has agreed to lead a US$90m investment in Indian online real estate platform Housing.com, becoming its largest investor.
The investment, in which New York-based hedge fund Falcon Edge and others will also participate, forms part…
Japanese telco Softbank has agreed to lead a US$90m investment in Indian online real estate platform Housing.com, becoming its largest investor.
The investment, in which New York-based hedge fund Falcon Edge and others will also participate, forms part of Softbank’s plans to invest in India’s digital infrastructure and build synergies with its other internet companies internationally.
Housing.com, founded by 12 graduates of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in June 2012, will use the funds to map more than 40 million homes across 300 Indian cities and provide ‘on-off’ buttons enabling owners and agents to indicate when properties are available for rent or sale.
Softbank vice chairman Nikesh Arora, also the CEO of its internet and media unit SIMI, said: “The Housing.com team has a great vision and deep insight into what it takes to build great products and transform the way people research and transact in real estate.”
The map-based housing platform, which helps people buy, sell and rent properties, currently has over 350,000 verified listings and 15,000 new projects across more than 45 cities. Its recently launched ‘Slice View’ platform, which Softbank describes as the world’s first interactive home booking portal, generated more than Rs500m (US$7.8m) of gross merchandise value during a five-day campaign, the Japanese telco said.
With the new US$90m investment, the start-up has raised about US$121m since founding.
The Raine Group acted as Softbank’s financial adviser for the transaction, while Morrison & Foerster and AZB & Partners provided legal advice.
Avendus Capital was financial adviser to Housing.com, while Krishnamurthy was legal adviser.
