PropertyGuru to Debut on NYSE as Investors Approve SPAC Deal

(Bloomberg) -- Shareholders approved the merger of PropertyGuru Pte. and blank-check company Bridgetown 2 Holdings Ltd., paving the way for the online real estate marketplace to start trading in New York even as investor interest toward such deals wanes.

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The proposal passed Tuesday at a special shareholder meeting of Bridgetown 2, the special purpose acquisition company backed by billionaires Richard Li and Peter Thiel. The combined entity will start trading March 18 on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker PGRU, the company said in a regulatory filing.

PropertyGuru, led by Chief Executive Officer Hari Krishnan, is attempting to list at a challenging time for SPACs. After a flurry of listings last year, the market has now been hit by diminishing investor interest, a crackdown by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and falling stock prices.

Investor redemptions -- or the portion of Bridgetown 2 shareholders that chose to redeem their shares for cash -- was 59.3%, the company said in a statement. The number of SPAC deals that haven’t crossed the finish line has risen this year partly because of investors’ ability to redeem their stock. Redemptions also affect how much cash the company is left with.

Grab Holdings Ltd., Southeast Asia’s biggest ride-hailing and delivery company, has plummeted about 65% since the transaction was completed in December amid a broader tech sell-off and a disappointing earnings report. It was the largest SPAC deal.

The difficult conditions echo past challenges for PropertyGuru. Back in 2019, it scrapped plans for an initial public offering in Australia amid a rocky market and valuation concerns.

PropertyGuru, founded by Steve Melhuish and Jani Rautiainen in Singapore 15 years ago to help residents to search for real estate online, has become a household name in the city-state. The company has since expanded into verticals such as home loans and data analytics, and moved into markets including Indonesia and Malaysia.

PropertyGuru is expecting total sales to rise 44% to S$145.1 million ($106 million) in 2022, banking on growth across all markets as economies reopen after the pandemic, according to a statement in February. The company also said it expects to return to positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Bridgetown 2 shares, originally sold at $10 each, fell 1.8% to $8.11 on Tuesday in New York.

(Updates with redemption rate in fourth paragraph)

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