Dubai-based real estate classifieds company Property Finder has raised $120 million in funding led by New York-based private equity company General Atlantic, according to Reuters. Property Finder CEO and founder Michael Lahyani told Reuters that the funding will be used to expand the company’s brand in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, and Morocco.
Photo Credit: Government of Dubai Media Office
And Property Finder is likely going to increase its staff of about 200 to 450 people by the end of 2019. “We want to continue building the best product and data information available to the public,” said Lahyani via Reuters.
Lahyani did not disclose how much stake General Atlantic received. But he told Bloomberg that it was for “a few percentage” and a “minority stake”:
In conjunction with this funding round, General Atlantic’s head of technology for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa Chris Caulkin is joining Property Finder’s board of directors after the investment round. TAP Advisors advised Property Finder for this round.
Founded in 2007, Property Finder has been profitable over the past four years. And the company is hitting six million monthly visits from users in the Middle East and North Africa markets. Property Finder also holds a minority stake in a Turkey-based property portal called Zingat.
Non-profit organization Endeavor and existing investor Vostok New Ventures also participated in this round. In terms of valuation, Property Finder is now valued at nearly $500 million. This is a substantial jump from when Property Finder was valued at $200 million in 2016. At that time, Property Finder sold a 10% stake to Vostok for $20 million.
