British firm acquires 70% share of Spain's leading property portal for 2.9 billion euros

The deal, allowing private equity investment company Cinven to take a major stake in the Idealista real estate platform, will need the approval of the market competition regulator

C. A.

Madrid

Friday, 28 June 2024, 11:59

Cinven, the British private equity investment firm, has bought 70% of Spanish property portal Idealista for 2.9 billion euros, while the Swedish investors of EQT, who were reference shareholders since their entry into the firm in 2020, have reinvested to continue as co-investors with an 18% share of the firm.

One of the keys to the deal is that the founder and president of Idealista, Jesús Encinar, will continue to head the leading platform in the Spanish real estate market with his current team, as was the case in 2015 after the sale to the Apax funds, and in 2020 when it was sold to EQT at a lower valuation of around 1.3 billion euros.

For their part, the funds managed by Apax and Oakley, which until now held 17% and 11% of Idealista, are selling their stake in this operation and leaving the company's shareholding.

"After four years since the entry of EQT and Oakley and the reinvestment of the funds managed by Apax, I am very happy to have helped them sell their stake with an excellent result for their investors," said Encinar in a statement following the information reported by the newspaper Expansión.

Jorge Quemada, partner and managing director of Cinven Iberia, also gave a positive assessment of the transaction, which is one of the fund's largest in recent years and which is still pending approval by Spain's National Market and Competition Commission (CNMC).

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