On March 18, Singapore-based property listing platform PropertyGuru made its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) through a successful SPAC merger with Bridgetown 2 Holdings. 

In a press statement, PropertyGuru CEO Hari V. Krishnan said, “Our successful listing on the NYSE will allow us to open more doors for the millions of residents across Southeast Asia looking for that perfect home or property investment.”

Continuing on his press statement, the PropertyGuru CEO also said that as more affluent and digitally-enabled populations enter the real estate market, PropertyGuru would have a tremendous opportunity. The platform will also enable global investors to access this high-growth market by going public. 

PropertyGuru began trading on the NYSE under the ticker PGRU, which opened at $8.61 and closed at the end of the trade at $8.46. 

PropertyGuru received US$254-million in gross proceeds raised in public listing via completion of a business combination with Bridgetown 2 Holdings Ltd with greater access to global financial markets to help support continued growth. 

As investors continue to take their cash off public equities due to accelerated Fed tearing and ongoing political uncertainty surrounding the war in Ukraine, PropertyGuru’s de-SPAC process with Bridgetown couldn’t have come at a more challenging time. 

However, according to Boardroom Alpha data, PropertyGuru’s SPAC partner, Bridgetown 2 Holdings, recorded a SPAC redemption rate of 59%, which is much lower than the average of 88% for the whole last month of February.

PropertyGuru was founded by Steve Melhuish and Jani Rautiainen in 2007, who were each driven by their personal frustrations of finding a home in Singapore. 

PropertyGuru serves five Southeast Asian markets: Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam. It helps over 52 million property seekers and hosts more than 3.3 million property listings every month. Additionally, the platform also has a network of over 57 million property agents on its platform.