Johannesburg - Property24.com, South Africa’s largest property search portal owned by media heavyweight Naspers, has bought rival Private Property.
The deal is likely to come under the close scrutiny of competition authorities as it involves big property portals in the country. The deal will culminate in the consolidation of the South African online property search industry.
Naspers’ investment relations officer, Meloy Horn, confirmed the deal last Friday.
“Property 24 has reached an agreement to acquire Private Property, subject to approvals. Due to confidentiality agreements, details of the transaction will only be disclosed once the deal closes,” Horn said.
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She did not respond to Business Report’s questions about the rationale of the deal and whether the companies had already sought the Competition Commission’s approval.
Business Report could not get comment from the Competition Commission yesterday.
The Property24 site offers a range of information and services to home buyers, sellers and owners, and links to estate agents, lenders and mortgage originators, while Private Property claims that its website has more than 1 million visitors monthly.
Ramped up
Naspers is building a stronger online presence in the real estate market.
For property buyers and renters, this means they gain better access to more options as they search for a property.
Naspers ramped up its presence in this sector when it acquired the majority of OLX in 2010 and 95 percent of the company in 2014.
Property24 listings are now searchable on OLX.
OLX is a buy-and-sell platform, available in more than 45 countries, which connects people to buy, sell exchange used goods and services for anyone to post a listing through their cellphone or on the web.
BUSINESS REPORT